Fromage Fort Recipe: Great Way to Use Up Cheese
This Fromage Fort Recipe could be just as easily called ‘Leftover Cheese Recipe” as it is a great way to use up those bits and bobs of leftover cheese you have scattered throughout your refrigerator and freezer. Impress your guests with this easy appetizer.
As I typically do, I started the new year by taking a deep dive into my refrigerator and freezer to unearth and salvage whatever foods had been buried over the past couple of months and holidays. However, unlike past years, this year I put in place some true Freezer and Refrigerator Organization that I hope will prevent all the buried and wasted foods in the future.
Inevitably, through the freezer excavation process, I discover food that can be combined for the making of a meal. Surely, we’ve all made ‘Clean out the Freezer’ soup, right?
And since we are a family of cheese lovers, I typically end up with bits and bobs of various leftover cheese that have been tucked away in the deep dark recesses of the freezer. While not all of these cheeses may be great for cutting since much frozen cheese tends to crumble, I do use them as ingredients in dishes.
Table of Contents
But another great way to use up leftover cheese bits is Fromage Fort (translated as Strong Cheese).
If you google fromage fort recipe you will find that it is really not much more than a leftover cheese recipe. Truly, it’s one of those ‘recipes’ that really don’t require a recipe…which is my favorite kind of recipe.
A Leftover Cheese Recipe
Some of these are affiliate links and I will earn a small commission off of the sale of these products, but the price you are charged is not affected. You can see my full disclosure policy here.
- Grab your bits of various cheeses; in this case, I had a bit of gruyere, a small bit of blue cheese, a little bit of feta, a tad of brie, a bit of goat cheese and a wedge of unidentified cheese (maybe more gruyere or asiago or manchego? As I’m writing this I’m a little shocked with myself for not taking a nibble to find out). I keep a container for my cheese scraps in the freezer.
- Toss the bits and bobs of leftover cheese in your food processor. If you have a good bit of hard cheese, you might want to grate that first.
- Add a little dry white wine (I’m still using up the Sauvignon Blanc that I’m not too fond of. I used a bottle for my Jalapeno Pepper Wine Jelly and my Meyer Lemon and Dried Fig Conserve. Thankfully, this is the last bottle!) My rule of thumb is about 1 – 1 1/2 cups of wine per pound of cheese.
- Grate some garlic (usually 2 cloves per pound of cheese).
- A generous grate of black pepper
- Herbs of your choice. I’m partial to parsley and chives but think thyme would be outstanding too.
- I find I never need salt…the cheese is salty enough.
- If you only have hard cheeses, you might want to add a little butter or cream cheese.
- Blend until smooth.
Fromage Fort
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb various pieces of cheese ideally a mix of hard and soft, brie, blue, goat cheese, asiago, gruyere, manchego are all great choices
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups white wine I prefer a dry wine
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- ground black pepper
- minced herbs optional
- butter or cream cheese as needed if you are using all hard cheese
Instructions
- Grate hard cheeses
- Add all cheese, 1 cup of wine, garlic, pepper into food processor and blend until smooth
- Add more wine as needed to create a smooth and spreadable mixture
- Once fully processed, gently mix in the herbs (if using)
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
How to Use Fromage Fort:
- Of course, you will want to smear it on your crackers
- Dip your veggies in it.
- It is outstanding when broiled on a piece of bread. We will be having it for dinner tonight alongside a bowl of soup.
- Use it in lieu of garlic and butter on your garlic bread…under the broiler.
- I have had great success freezing it. As such, it makes a perfect last-minute appetizer when an unexpected guest arrives.
- Package it in a lovely Weck jar and take it as a hostess gift. This will ensure you get invited back often!
- Stick it on a ‘grazing board’ for a delicious and easy dinner for your family.
Bookmark this page or Pin the following image to refer back to this Fromage Fort Recipe in the future:
Looking for another great appetizer recipe? Check out this curry yogurt spread.
Thanks so much for spending a few minutes of your busy day with me!
To ensure you don’t miss future content, pop your email in the pale green box on the right or click here. I usually send one email weekly, so I won’t inundate your inbox. I’m sensitive to an overflowing email inbox!
We will only use your email address to send you emails, no more than 1-2 weekly. In addition, you will have access to my growing library of knit & crochet patterns and other printables. Check back often as this library will continue to grow. You can unsubscribe anytime by emailing me or clicking on the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of all emails.
And you can access many of the products I refer to on my Nourish and Nestle Amazon Page. You can access it here.
So, if you’d like to participate in the ‘subscriber benefit’ action, simply subscribe to Nourish and Nestle here or use the form on the right sidebar. It’s slightly towards the top.
I have sent all my subscribers the link to the Subscriber Benefits Library. If you missed it or misplaced it, let me know.
Until next time…
Hi Lynn,
This sounds like a yummy recipe for leftover cheese. I would love to print the recipe for future use, is there a button I’m missing to be able to do that? Thanks!
Hey Beth, it is so yummy! You should be able to print now…thanks for bringing it to my attention!
Have a great day.
Lynn
What to use if alcohol is not an option?
Good Morning Fiona,
Ugh, that’s a tough one. I have read about substituting white grape juice with a dash of vinegar, but have not tried that. The white grape juice would surely make a sweeter product, hopefully the vinegar might cut that sweetness down a little. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you do try it.
Have a great day my friend.
Hugs, Lynn
I can’t use wine, is there an alternative please
Hi Jean,
That’s a conundrum! The wine really gives it a little bit of acidity that it needs. Maybe a dash of wine vinegar and some milk or cream? I’ve not tried that so I can’t attest to how it would taste. But, if you do try it, I’d love for you to let me know what you think!
Have a wonderful day, my friend.
Hugs,
Lynn
Hey Lynn,
You know the arrow to my heart. Reducing waste! Keep the great ideas coming. I’m off to address my frig! Have a great day.
Nan
OH Yippee! So glad you found something useful! I need to add to it as I’m thinking of new ways to waste less!
Hugs, my friend.
Lynn
What a great idea to freeze cheese bits! Why have I never thought of this? Thus was delicious. I had to wait until we ran out of crackers before my husband would stop stealing bits from the food processor bowl. I used chives, thyme and sage. It really is VERY good!