Baked Fontina with a Frugal Twist
Baked Fontina with a frugal twist is the ultimate appetizer – fast, easy and soul satisfying.
If you haven’t had Fontina cheese, you’re missing out. What is it? It’s a semi-firm and creamy cows milk cheese. It has a mild nutty flavor. And it’s delicious.
Young Fontina has a softer texture (and can be suitable for fondue). Fontina has a mild, somewhat nutty flavor, while rich, herbaceous and fruity. It melts well.
Wikipedia
One thing Fontina is not is cheap. That’s why we’re taking a classic recipe and easing off on the Fontina a bit by mixing in chunks of mozzarella.
Mozzarella is ooey gooey and a fast melter too. What it’s not? Full of flavor. It’s a young cheese that isn’t given a long time to ripen. It is very cost effective though. The combination is almost magical.
Baked Fontina is also fast.
You chop up the cheese and add a couple tasty ingredients while the oven is heating. The cheese cooks for all of 7 minutes.
Let’s get cooking!
Set the oven rack in the second to top slot and turn on the broiler. If you’re serving with a baguette, now is the time to slice it and put it on a baking sheet in the oven to toast. Use a lower rack, and the baguette should be ready to go when it’s time to put the cheese in.
Meanwhile, cut the cheese into large chunks (about 1″ each) and put them into a 10″ cast iron skillet (affiliate links follow – see disclaimer page for details). If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, make sure you use an oven proof skillet.
Drizzle cheese with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh thyme if you have it, and crushed red pepper flakes. If you use dried thyme, take it a little easy – that stuff is super strong.
You can hold the appetizer until this point – and if your people aren’t in the house yet, you’re going to want to wait until they are. This cooks super fast, and eats even faster.
Pop the skillet into the oven and let bake until bubbly and brown, about 6-7 minutes.
Serve with the toasted baguettes and the veggies of your choice. We used red bell peppers and they were divine. Of course a spoon might not be a bad idea.
If you can’t find Fontina cheese, Gruyere makes an excellent substitute. You can use provolone or Gouda in a pinch too.
Baked Fontina
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Fontina Cheese
- 8 ounces Chunk Mozzarella Cheese
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Fresh Thyme Leaves
- 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Serve With
- French Baguette slices, toasted or not
- Red Bell Pepper slices
- Broccoli Florets
- Green Onions
- Celery pieces
Instructions
- Move oven rack into second to top rack position in the stove. Preheat oven to broil.
- If toasting bread, slice it now and place in oven on baking sheet on a lower rack. Remove when toasted on both sides.
- Chop cheese into 1" to 1-1/2" chunks and lay in single layer in 10" oven safe skillet.
- Drizzle cheese with olive oil and sprinkle with thyme and red pepper flakes.
- Place pan in oven and broil until the cheese is bubbly and brown, 6 – 7 minutes.
- Serve immediately with bread or veggies.
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