Fonduta Valdostana
Preparazione 15 min · Cottura 20 min · Riposo 2 h · Porzioni 4 · Difficoltà Media
Procedimento
Slice the Fontina thin, lay it in a bowl, and pour over the milk to cover. Rest 2 hours at cool room temperature (or overnight in the refrigerator).
2 h
Set a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water and melt the butter in it.
3 min
Add the soaked cheese with about half its milk. Stir slowly with a wooden spoon as it melts into a thick, stringy mass. Patience: the water below must never boil.
8 min
Whisk the yolks with the remaining soaking milk, then stir into the cheese. Keep stirring gently until the strings relax into a glossy, pourable cream that coats the spoon.
8 min
Season with a whisper of pepper and, only if needed, salt.
1 min
Pour into warmed bowls and serve immediately with toasted bread, boiled potatoes, or soft polenta.
I consigli della nonna
Consigli in cucina
The soak is structural. Milk-soaked Fontina melts into cream; dry Fontina splits into oil and curd. If you skipped the soak, start over rather than fight it.
Yolks, low heat, slow hands. The yolks thicken at custard temperatures. If the bowl ever becomes too hot to touch, lift it off the water and keep stirring.
In late autumn, valdostano restaurants finish fonduta with shaved white truffle from neighboring Piedmont. A few drops of truffle-less honesty: it is glorious plain.
