by Matt Tebbutt from Guilty Pleasures: Your Favourite Sweet and Savoury Indulgences in 130 Easy Recipes (Quercus)
If you don’t remember the seventies, this is what people ate at parties… so I’m told! The stout gives the cheese a distinct and pleasant bitterness, which makes it a little less rich than it would otherwise be.
Enough for 4
Ingredients
300ml dark beer or stout (such as Guinness)
600g grated cheese, Cheddar or Gruyère, or a mix of the two, plus extra if needed
Worcester sauce, to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tsp English mustard
1 tsp cornflour, mixed with a splash of cold beer or stout
Your choice of celery sticks, blanched asparagus, carrots, cherry tomatoes, radishes & French bread, to serve
Method
Start by bringing the beer to the boil in a saucepan. Throw in the cheese, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne and mustard and stir together. Add the blended cornflour to the mixture to thicken and let it simmer for a couple of minutes.
Now taste and check the consistency; it needs to have a coating quality, so thicken it with more cheese or cornflour or add more liquid as necessary. Keep the fondue mixture simmering very gently on the lowest heat so that it stays molten.
Serve with a selection of vegetables, such as celery sticks, blanched asparagus, carrots, cherry tomatoes and radishes and, it goes without saying, lots of crusty French bread.
