Chässchnitte (Swiss Cheese On Toast)
Don’t have a fondue pot? Make this delicious Swiss cheese on toast instead with the same ingredients used for fondue (except a little less wine). Chässchnitte is served all over Switzerland in one form or another. As with fondue, the ingredients vary slightly from canton to canton and cook to cook; sometimes the bread is dipped in white wine and topped with cheese, other times the wine is dissolved into the cheese as I'm doing here. Sometimes it's grilled in the oven, sometimes fried in a pan on the stove top – then mustard is often spread on the bread under the cheese topping and it’s called brätkase as it’s cooked in a brätpfanne (frying pan). The same beverage rules apply to chässchnitte as to fondue: drink crisp white wine, schnapps or black tea to help digest all this cheese (never beer or water). Step-by-step video and print-friendly version of recipe here.
Ingredients
1 stick demi-baguette
1 tsps cornflour
1/2 cups dry white wine, (125ml)
300 grams Gruyère, (10½oz)
1 pinch freshly ground white pepper, to taste
1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
1 small green salad, for serving
Preparation
Cut baguette into halves lengthways, then cut each half crossways to give 4 pieces in total.
Place on a chopping board cut side down and press gently with the heel of your hand to flatten them slightly, exposing more surface area.
Place on a baking paper lined baking tray, cut side up.
Dissolve the cornflour in 2 tablespoons (40ml) of the wine and set aside.
Place cheese and remaining wine in a small, heavy-based saucepan, place over a low heat and stir until the cheese has melted.
Stir in pepper and nutmeg then add cornflour mixture.
Stir vigorously until well combined and smooth. Set aside to cool a little.
Meanwhile, heat an overhead grill to high.
Pour cheese mixture over bread and place under the grill.
Grill for a few minutes, until bubbling and lightly coloured.
Serve immediately with a green salad.