Monday 4 November 2013

Meat Free Monday - Cheese & cider pumpkin fondue

This seasonal symphony of melted cheese and booze is this recipe from the Metro. But I decided that it was a good way to use up the scooped-out pumpkin flesh from my Halloween cat pumpkin. After all, those pumpkins are grown for size, regular shape and large seed cavity, not for delectable flesh, so the culinary uses need to involve lots of other strong flavours. This combination of cheese, cider, porcini mushrooms and calvados certainly fit the bill.

I finely chopped my leftover pumpkin and roasted it until tender, then divided it between two deep oven-proof dishes. Then I topped it with the fondue mixture. It's worth seeking out a really dry cider for this, because the pumpkin doesn't really need too much extra sweetness. I used real garlic, not granules, and a very strong Somerset cheddar. And, because I am incapable of making anything vegetable-and-cheesy without it, I added a grating of nutmeg on top.

We ate it with slices of crusty chickpea cob dunked in it and glasses of red wine. Warming right to our toes.
Yes, I watched the Great British Bake-off masterclass, why do you ask?
I'm going to link this up to Heather and Joanne's 12 Weeks Of Winter Squash event, where the mighty squash is being properly celebrated.

7 comments:

Heather S-G said...

First of all - WOW, what a magical loaf of bread! If I could sit down with that and the fondue in front of me, it'd be euphoria. Add a bottle of white wine, and I may not move for the rest of the evening. ;)

Amy said...

What a creative fondue with the addition of cider! I have a fondue pot that I forget to use but am inspired to get it out now.

Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl said...

This looks amazing and I especially love the pumpkin and cider aspect to it, I bet it smells lovely!

grace said...

not only does the dip portion sound delightful, but your choice of dipper looks fantastic too!

Joanne said...

Pumpkin AND cheese all in one!! Sounds good to me!

Alicia Foodycat said...

Heather - that sounds like my idea of the perfect night in too!

Amy - for this one you don't even need a fondue pot, although it is nice to use your stuff sometimes.

Pamela - it smelt amazing - the calvados added a lovely kick.

Grace - I saw the technique for shaping the bread just the day before.

Joanne - it was the perfect seasonal meal!

Simona Carini said...


Perfect seasonal meal indeed! It sounds wonderful and the bread looks beautiful.

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