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Petites Fondues Au Pâte d’Italie

A creamy fondue made with Italian pasta, Stilton, Parmesan, and eggs, baked until set.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Cheese and parmesan cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,041 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Petites Fondues Au Pâte d’Italie

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the pasta

  1. Blanch the pasta in boiling water for a few minutes, then strain it until slightly dry.

Make the cheese base

  1. In a saucepan, melt the butter and mix in the flour.

  2. Add the boiling milk and stir over heat until thick.

  3. Stir in the pasta and cook for a few more minutes.

  4. Add the Stilton and Parmesan cheeses, season with pepper, salt, and cayenne.

  5. Stir in the egg yolks and cook for another minute until partially set.

Bake and serve

  1. Let the mixture cool, then whip the egg whites until stiff and fold them in.

  2. Fill small paper cases with the mixture and bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 15 minutes.

  3. Serve very hot.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cheese + parmesan cheesetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,041 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  2. Pasta + flourtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together659 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Pasta + parmesan cheesetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,289 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

  5. Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,962 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Egg whites
Whipped to stiffness, they lighten the mixture and help it rise and set as it bakes.
Egg yolks
They enrich the base and thicken it gently as it cooks, helping it set.
Flour
Cooked with butter and milk, it thickens the sauce that holds the mixture together.
Stilton cheese
Melts into the base, adding a strong, sharp flavour and some creaminess.
Parmesan cheese
Adds savoury depth and helps the mixture firm up and brown lightly.
Italian pasta
Adds body and a chewy texture to the mixture.

The step that matters

Folding in the egg whites. Whites must be whipped to stiff peaks and folded gently after the base has cooled. Overmixing deflates the foam, and a warm base can cause the whites to lose volume, so the bake will not rise as intended.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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