Fonduta
Valdostana
Warm Fontina cheese fonduta
Fontina melts into a warm, velvety sauce with milk, egg yolks and butter, ready to spoon up with toasted bread.
Warm Fontina fonduta & toasted breadWarm Fontina,
a velvety Alpine spoonful.
Fonduta valdostana is a warm cheese preparation from Aosta Valley. Fontina gives it a rounded, savory flavor, while milk, egg yolks and butter make a smooth sauce. It is richer and more spoonable than a simple layer of melted cheese.
The cheese is first softened in milk, then melted gently over a water bath. Toasted bread is a familiar accompaniment; kitchens also spoon fonduta over polenta or potatoes. This recipe serves four small starters with bread and keeps the focus on Fontina, without wine, starch or truffle.
Explore by food: Vegetables & cheese
At the table: Antipasti · Secondi.
Let’s make fonduta valdostana.
Four starter portions with toasted bread. Use Fontina from Aosta Valley and a bowl set over gently simmering water.
Four small starter bowls with 50 g bread per person.
What you’ll need
- 400 gFontina, rind removed and cut into small thin pieces
- 200 mlwhole milk
- 4commercially pasteurized egg yolks (about 70 g)
- 30 gbutter, diced
- 200 grustic bread, cut into bite-size cubes
- ¼ tspblack pepper
- as neededwater for the water bath
Allow 2 hours for the refrigerated milk soak. Fontina provides the seasoning. Commercially pasteurized yolks and gentle measured heating are used in this home recipe. Polenta, potatoes and truffle are separate accompaniments.
How to make it
- 01
Soften the cheese
Put the Fontina and milk in a heatproof bowl that will fit over a saucepan. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Keep all the soaking milk for the sauce.
- 02
Prepare the water bath
Put a few centimeters of water in the saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Set the bowl of cheese and milk over it, with the base above the water. Stir patiently for about 15–20 minutes until the cheese has melted into the milk; an initially stringy mass should become smoother.
- 03
Add the yolks
Beat the pasteurized yolks in a small bowl. Stir in two spoonfuls of warm cheese mixture, then slowly stir this back into the fonduta. Add the butter and continue stirring gently for about 5–8 minutes until glossy and thick enough to coat a spoon. Check the stirred sauce reaches 71°C / 160°F, then take it off the heat. Do not let it boil.
- 04
Toast the bread
Spread the bread cubes in a dry frying pan and toast over medium heat for about 5–7 minutes, turning until lightly browned. Keep the fonduta off direct heat while you finish the bread.
- 05
Serve warm
Divide the warm sauce among four small bowls and add the black pepper. Serve immediately with the toasted bread. The sauce thickens as it cools; avoid trying to keep it bubbling on the table.
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