Several years ago, my friend Jenny and I started a New Year's Eve tradition with the kids. We'd gather at her house, hang out all night and make both cheese and chocolate fondue. As time has gone by, we find that one family or the other is frequently out of town for New Year's Eve, but the kids don't consider the holiday season to be complete until they have had their fondue night. As much as the adults love fondue, by the time early January rolls around, we are usually starting to shy away from holiday indulgences. Our solution: we use a fabulous traditional cheese fondue recipe, but load up on roasted vegetables instead of serving it with just bread. Thursday night, we cubed a whole wheat baquette (and a white one for any kids that might object to whole wheat) and roasted fingerling/purple potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower. While we were still eating cheese melted in wine, it felt better to be dipping all those vegetables into it.
Cheese Fondue with Roasted Vegetables
Our favorite fondue recipe is one from epicurious.com that was first published in the 1960s.
- Epicurious Cheese Fondue Recipe If you do not have cornstarch, substitute 2 tablespoons of flour.
- 1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
- 2 pounds fingerling or baby new potatoes, halved
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 425. Add cauliflower to a medium bowl. Drizzle with about 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet, cut side down. Repeat process with potatoes and broccoli, using a separate baking sheet for each. If desired, sprinkle cauliflower with chili powder or nutmeg for an extra flavor.
Roast cauliflower and potatoes for about 20 minutes, until fork tender. Roast broccoli for 7-10 minutes until tender. Transfer all vegetables to a large platter.
Prepare cheese fondue according to recipe instructions; serve with cubed bread and roasted vegetables.
