Having fondue vegetarian style is a lot simpler than you may think. You can create an entire meal out of it:
cheese fondue,
vegetarian shabu fondue and chocolate fondue. Here are a few ideas on how to go about having your vegetarian fondue.
Fondue for Vegetarians
Fondue can be low-cal, low carb, sugar free, fat free or vegetarian. Basically, you're the cook and you can dunk and dip whatever you feel like eating. If you are a strict vegetarian, you will have to be very careful with the ingredients that are included in your broth and dips, so it's best if you prepare it yourself from scratch.
This particular type of fondue will be ok for some vegetarians while it won't be for others. Getting rid of the cheese all together defeats the purpose of having a
cheese fondue,
but there are soy-based cheeses on the market and perhaps you could consider having soy-based cheese fondue.
I have yet to try it myself, but I will definitely keep you posted when I do!
Main Meal Fondue for Vegetarians
Shabu shabu is one of my favourite meals and can be classified as vegetarian fondue, depending on what you throw in the pot. Shabu shabu is a Japanese fondue-style meal where you cook vegetables (cabbage, tomatoes, taro, corn, mushrooms, lettuce) in a boiling broth. The only significant differences would be that chopsticks are normally used instead of forks and sometimes you get your own individual pot.
You can also add raw meat, seafood or tofu and other vegetarian dumpling-style bites. Obviously, you can skip the meat and make shabu shabu vegetarian style. You can purchase prepared broth (seafood, fish, mushroom, spicy tomato, soy or vegetable) or make your own.
Unless you also exclude milk products, this type of fondue is very vegetarian friendly. There are a variety of recipes out there, including some other dessert fondue recipes and you can dip as many fruit slices as you want (and cake and cookies and whatever else you want to dip in delicious melted chocolate).
Was it so far fetched? Having fondue vegetarian style isn't impossible... I'll post some great recipes shortly.