Baked Fontina
Source: Barefoot Contessa: How Easy Is That?
Note: I made a half recipe (using slightly less than half the amount of cheese) and baked it in one of these mini Lodge cast-iron skillets. It worked beautifully.
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
*Suggested brand: Italian Fontina Val d’Aosta (I could not find this…just used what I could find at the grocery store)
1. 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 — mine was more like 10.)
2. 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.
3. 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.
