Fondue Made Healthy with ... Puréed Beans?
Despite its status as a tired, dowdy party trick, Fondue remains a seriously delicious way to enjoy cheese. Artisanal Bistro has undoubtedly revived the lost art, offering two regular choices on their menu as well as a fondue of the day, all of which highlight the cheeses themselves in a deeply satisfying way. The classic blend features a mixture of Swiss Alpine cheeses Gruyère, Emmental, and Appenzeller, but this week the Associated Press published a recipe for a low-fat Cheddar and ale fondue that promises to mimic the creamy texture of the real thing using puréed white beans. Curious indeed.
In general I'm very leery of any recipe involving low-fat cheese. I've never tasted a low-fat cheese that left me wanting more. Indeed, it is the fat in cheese that gives it its characteristically smooth texture and full-bodied taste, and without it cheese tends to be rubbery and vapid. I'd much rather eat a smaller quantity of full-fat cheese than an appetite-quenching serving of low-fat cheese. Who's with me?
On the other hand, I recognize that cheese is almost laughably high in fat. A one-ounce serving of Cabot Cheddar, for instance, contains nine grams of fat, six of which are saturated. That's 30% of the recommended daily saturated fat intake. And I don't know about you, but if I'm eating fondue, I'm having a lot more than one ounce of cheese.
So along comes this recipe for low-fat fondue. Puréed white beans (great northern, navy, or cannellini) help make the fondue "extra thick and silky without needing additional cheese...While the beans do add a certain earthiness to the fondue, the sharp cheeses and the assertive taste of the ale provide a flavor backdrop that evens things out. Dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce and a splash of hot sauce also help balance the flavors." Hmmm, how many flavors do we need to add to mask the bean flavor? I'm certainly skeptical, but I haven't tried the recipe (it just hit the wire yesterday) so I can't comment fully.
Anyone out there tried this? Is the texture OK? Something tells me the texture would be a bit too starchy/grainy, but I'm also willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. Beans taste good, so I guess it's possible this recipe's author has really stumbled upon something great!
About the author: Jamie Forrest publishes Curdnerds.com from his apartment in Brooklyn, New York, where he lives with his wife, his daughter, and his cheese.
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6 Comments:
First of all if you're going to eat cheese fondue EAT CHEESE FONDUE. I've never heard of bean & cheese fondue! It sounds digusting (but probably tastes pretty good). I'm just tired of everything everywhere having a low-fat counterpart. And secondly; why did I ever toss out my fondue set from the 70s?
RichardCrystal at 2:45PM on 03/11/08
This could be good. Different, but good. Possibly even very good, depending on that cheese.
I base this on my love for mixing the cheese and gravy from enchiladas into my refried beans. Also, I ate a surprisingly delicious and addictive party dip that was a mix of refried beans and chile con queso. Granted, refried beans are full of extra fat, but I think the principle holds.
Crap, this apple just isn't doing the trick now.
renzata at 3:55PM on 03/11/08
If - and that's a big if - but if this works, and it really does taste good, I would love to use this same technique on a low-fat version of macaroni and cheese. As long as it's not too grainy, it would probably taste really good.
RickieBeth at 3:59PM on 03/11/08
Ellie Krieger's new book has a recipe for lowfat mac-n-cheese that uses pureed yellow squash. Same idea, no?
Dominic
the zen kitchen
dvchurch at 7:02AM on 03/12/08
Adding pureed beans to a variety of dishes for added flavor, texture, and health benefits is a great way to eat well. We do it all the time and think of it as "two-fers" when we add a little something extra that is healthful to a dish that already tastes good, but might lack high nutritional value. So long as it's real food, why not? As far as cheese fondue being high in saturated fats, I'd rather eat a small amount of the real thing, that is a cheese fondue made with real cheese, good wine or beer, and a puree of organic beans - with a side of organic apples and good bread for dipping.
Clairesinnewhaven at 10:55AM on 03/17/08
Sounds to me like a really excellent recipe for bean and cheese soup...but I don't know about it working as fondue. The cheese content also adds the "goo-ness" to fondue...at least it does when I make it... =)
akk328 at 1:13PM on 03/17/08