Baked Fontina
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I am all for buying two or three wedges of nice cheeses, plopping them on a cutting board, surrounding them with grapes and nuts and maybe something exotic like quince membrillo, and crossing “make-hors d’oeuvres” off my to-do list.
But every so often it’s nice to present something a teensy more special, more awe-inspiring, more spectacularly delicious. This baked fontina is the favorite party trick of my aunt — not the one that introduced me to salsa di parmigiano, the other one. She serves this bubbling fontina-herb-and-garlic-filled cast-iron skillet just as instructed with lots of crusty bread and swears that not a morsel ever remains. Because it is quite decadent, her other offerings consist of crispy kale chips and radishes with sea salt. My aunties are just full of good ideas.
This is definitely another good one to know this time of year — it’s super easy to put together and a guaranteed crowd pleaser. And if you are starting to feel anxious about how you might keep guests out of the kitchen this holiday season, here’s your solution: just plop down this cast-iron skillet in a nice cozy spot as far from your kitchen as possible — you’ll be sure to find some peace. But work quickly, because it won’t last long.
Baked Fontina
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6 as an appetizer
Description
Source: Barefoot Contessa: How Easy Is That?
Note: You can make a half recipe and bake it in mini cast-iron skillets. It works beautifully.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds fontina*, rind removed and 1-inch-diced
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 crusty French baguette
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler and position the oven rack 5 inches from the heat. (If you can’t get it exactly 5 inches, don’t worry.)
- Distribute the cubes of Fontina evenly in a 12-inch cast-iron pan. Drizzle on the olive oil. Combine the garlic, thyme, and rosemary and sprinkle it over the cheese and olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and place the pan under the broiler for 6 minutes (or longer if your pan is farther from the heat source), until the cheese is melted and bubbling and starts to brown.
- Serve the baked Fontina family-style-right out of the oven in the cast-iron pan with crusty chunks of bread for everyone to dip.
Notes
*Suggested brand: Italian Fontina Val d’Aosta
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Broiler
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
55 Comments on “Baked Fontina”
Good grief but that looks gorgeous. You certainly have been blessed with aunties of good taste.
Sue and Alicia — thank you!
Oh god – amazing. Definitely melted cheese weather!
I agree with Alicia! Amazing. How many inches wide are the mini-pans?
Liz — the pans are 6 3/8 inches in diameter. I love them! A recent purchase and I couldn’t be happier.
Yum! I think I’m making this for dinner tonight
Oh my word – that looks so good! (and rich… and decadent…) I really like the mini-cast iron!
Oh my! That is one cheese yummy goodness, I can never stop eating.
Love. This.
You’re killing me with all this cheesy deliciousness!
Another recipe to print out & try ASAP! And this one gives me an excuse to go to my favorite, funky, locally-owned, kitchenwares warehouse to get a new piece of cast iron (I only have a 12″ skillet).
Lollie — you can totally use your 12-inch skillet if you can’t find these smaller skillets — I only just picked these up this past weekend because I happened to be at an outlet mall and couldn’t resist picking up a few more “essentials”. This baked fontina is to die for. I hope you like it!
Are the ingredient amounts here for the small cast iron or the large cast iron??
The ingredients are for the large! You can split it into two small if you wish.
I found this recipe pinned on pinterest and clicked on through to find your beautiful blog! I not only will make this recipe of Ina Garner’s for certain, but I wll also be following your wonderful foodie blog as well so that I never miss a post! I would also like to invite you to stop by my blog as well when you have a moment. Your photography is outstanding by the way! Just outstanding!
Roz — thank you for your nice comment! I’m so happy to hear you are liking what you see. This baked fontina is a must-make this holiday…people will go crazy. I will check out your blog right now!
I hate you right now because I’ve been avoiding cheese like the plague in order to fit into my skinny jeans. I’m in my skinny jeans now, but I think I’d be happier if I dove into this melted madness!!
RecipeGirl — you crack me up! I wish I were fitting into skinny jeans right now…I think these most recent cheese-dip discoveries have done me in.
Such a lovely post. You remind me that I do not do enough with Fontina. Thanks for recipe — I love the idea of loading on the garlic and fresh herbs here. And it’s so simple. Good to see you in the debut issue of Grate. Pair. Share. too!
Madame Fromage — thank you for letting me know! I hadn’t seen it yet. It looks really good. And, I was thinking the same exact thing re Fontina — I have forgotten how delicious it is! I have been grating it into my eggs every morning…also delicious. The garlic and fresh herbs really make this dish.
LOVE FONTINA!!! We are going to make it this weekend for a small get together.
I love your Aunts – they are clearly the best. I even have the perfect mini cast iron pan for this *gleeful laughter*
I’m chomping my lips looking at these pictures! Talk about ooey gooey – this defines that! I have to make this!
I love trying out new cheese related recipes and this looks really good! Love it that its quite light and can go with crusty bread and crackers. Thanks for sharing!
Esther — It is wonderful with crusty bread and crackers…I can’t total say it is light, however, delicious for sure, but light might be a stretch 🙂
Oh wow. I think I just let out an audible gasp.
Haha, I love it. This is a good little party trick to know 🙂
This was incredible. I had a night without roommates and reduced the recipe to 1/3 of the original, opened a bottle of wine, and enjoyed the solitude. Maybe I’ll even share some with my boyfriend next date night 🙂
Anna, that sounds like the most incredible evening ever. My husband plays hockey on Tuesday nights and so we usually eat separately…I am SO looking forward to this dinner for one next week. I think I’m going to have to rent Before Midnight and call it a night 🙂
I just saw this exact recipe done by Ina Garten…Barefoot Congress show on food network…..is she your aunt? Lol
Haha, no, no, but funny, enough Ina and my aunt know each other! I have a photo of the two of them in a newspaper clipping from one of Ina’s book signings. so funny.
This looks so amazing. I’ve just recently started cooking with fontina, and I love how well it melts into creamy deliciousness. I’ve pinned this to make soon.
Also, I’ve shared this on my Super Bowl Recipe Roundup: https://karylskulinarykrusade.com/recipe-roundup-super-bowl/
I love that mini cast iron skillet! Is it the deeper one or the wider, shallower one? I couldn’t tell from your photo.
Hi Veronica! I don’t think Lodge makes these anymore. I just looked at their webpage. But to give you an idea, these are 6 inches in diameter and 1 inch deep. Hope that helps!
The Fontina I’m able to get looks like Swiss cheese, and when heated gets rubbery.
It would be a disaster. What other cheese can I use?
Hi Tsandi,
I would suggest a Gruyere maybe or just try it with the Fontina. I’ve had success using pretty “unspecial” fontina from my “unfancy” market. Hope that helps!
When I couldn’t find Fontina, I used Gruyere and smoked gouda. I was delicious, but at the end it sorta clumped together.
Does that happen with the fontina as well?
Deliciousness!!!
It does actually… this one is best served immediately! So glad to hear these other cheeses worked well for you. Happy holidays!
OMG! The first thing I saw when I looked at the main photo was a bird! and I could not unsee it!
Awesome, so happy to hear this, Frank!!
Can I add smoked Gouda to this?
Yes, and yum!
What herb would work well to replace the rosemary?
I just made this but with Comté cheese instead cause that’s what I only had.. It’s the bomb!! Delicious!! With my wine in one hand I couldn’t stop eating.
So happy to hear this, Nellie!
Made the Baked Fontina for New Year’s Eve and baked it in my Le Creuset cast iron skillet. It was absolutely perfect! All ages loved it the melding of the flavors of the fontina, garlics, herbs & olive oil. This recipe has now been added to the list of permanent “go to” recipes.
So happy to hear this, Susan!
This recipe is one of my favorite go-to’s! Today is Sunday-Funday football and I’m making it for a snack! Perfect!
Woohoo! Enjoy your Sunday-Funday! Love this one, too 🙂
Do you think a very thin layer of caramelized onions laid in the skillet before the fontina would be too much? Or better to be a purist and make your wonderful recipe as is? My son loves French onion soup and this is an appetizer for his birthday dinner.
I think a layer of caramelized onions sounds amazing! Go for it 🎉🎉🎉🎉