Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto & Fontina Fondue

Of all the fondue recipes I’ve made over the years, this is a favorite. This Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto and Cheese Fondue Recipe will rock your party, or your romantic dinner for two!

My first encounter with fondue was on my honeymoon in the summer of 1999… feeling old.

Lt. Dan and I had just finished college and after 3 and a half years of dating we thought, “What the heck, let’s get married!”

Lt. Dan had saved some money for our honeymoon and we determined it was enough for either a week on a tropical island, or a month-long road trip out west. Having just graduated college and not having to start work for a couple months, we opted for the road trip.

We spent an entire month working our way through little towns in Colorado. From Vale, to Steamboat Springs, to Canyon City, to Colorado Springs. We stayed in several cabins a college buddy’s family loaned us, lounged in natural hot springs, hiked, rode horses, and ate in some amazing restaurants.

One of our favorite memories was finding a fondue restaurant called the Mona Lisa in Manitou Springs, the town at the foot of Pikes Peak.

Weren’t we cute? Lovebirds in 1999.

We sat out on a tiny open-air balcony to enjoy our first experience with fondue. We were so young and care-free, that this opulent dining experience felt like it was straight out of the movies. Course after course, wine after wine, we laughed, flirted, and ever so slyly gorged ourselves with bread, cheese and chocolate.

To this day, it was one of the most romantic dinners I’ve ever experienced.

We knew fondue was something we would have to do again. After returning home, we promptly acquired a fondue pot, so we could recreate our experience at home.

We have hosted many fondue parties over the years, each bringing back the memory of our first nostalgic fondue dinner on a balcony in the mountain air.

I’ve experimented with quite a few cheese fondue recipes: the classic swiss, beer and cheddar, irish dubliner fondue… but this pesto laced cheese fondue recipe is a real winner.

I recently discovered DeLallo’s new Simply Pesto, and immediately fell in love with the Sun-Dried Tomato & Olive Pesto.

Guys… it is so good.

Dare I say just as good, if not better, than homemade sun-dried tomato pesto, and made from natural non-scientific ingredients.

We’ve been eating it left and right over DeLallo Whole Wheat Pasta with a sprinkle of fresh romano cheese, but I digress.

This was just the pesto to breathe life into a creamy italian fontina cheese fondue!

I made a classic cheese fondue recipe, using creamy and nutty italian fontina cheese (sometimes called fontal or fontinella.) Then once the cheese was molten and hot, I stirred in a generous scoop of sun-dried tomato pesto to kick up the flavor.

Briny, nutty, fresh and fragrant oozing pot of goodness. That’s what this is.

Try dunking bread, gerkin pickles, or veggies in it, and you have a party in a pot. No noise-makers required.

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Pesto Cheese Fondue Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

This Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto and Cheese Fondue Recipe will rock your party, or your romantic dinner for two!

Servings: 6

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

For the Cheese Fondue Recipe:

• 1 1/2 pounds Italian Fontina Fontal cheese shredded
• 1/4 cup All-Purpose Gold Medal Flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
• 1/2 cup DeLallo Sun-Dried Tomato & Olive Pesto

Possible items for dipping:

• 1 loaf rustic Italian bread cut into cubes
• Raw vegetables
• Small pickles
• Grapes
• Apples cut into cubes

Instructions

• Set a small sauce pot over medium heat. Add the oil and flour and whisk for 1-2 minutes until thick and smooth, but not dark. Whisk in the wine and bring to a simmer.
• Meanwhile, heat a fondue pot on its stand in preparation for the fondue. Slowly add the cheese to the hot liquid, stirring continuously to melt. Once all the cheese is melted into the liquid, and the mixture is smooth, stir in the pesto.
• Pour the cheese fondue into the fondue pot to keep it warm and serve with bread cubes, veggies and/or fruit.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 584kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 30g, Fat: 42g, Saturated Fat: 23g, Cholesterol: 133mg, Sodium: 1100mg, Potassium: 115mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 1170IU, Vitamin C: 0.8mg, Calcium: 649mg, Iron: 0.9mg

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American, Italian

Author: Sommer Collier

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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Delallo Foods. All pesto-loving opinions are my own.

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