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The cheeseboard
Goat’s cheese tartine with tomato jam and roasted hazelnuts
Lightly toast a couple slices of Irish soda bread. Top with thin slices of goat’s cheese and place under the grill till it starts to bubble up. Remove from the oven, top with a spoonful of doce de tomate (a Portuguese tomato jam) and sprinkle with roasted, chopped hazelnuts.
Serve immediately.
Feta cheese with lemon and thyme
This combo of salty cheese, cut by the fresh sharpness of the lemon and given a bit more personality with the addition of fresh thyme is a match made in heaven. Oh, and so quick to put together. Served alongside a Greek-ish salad assortment (ripe tomato wedges, black wrinkly olives, crisp cucumber, little gem lettuces), which your guest can assemble on their plates themselves removes the headache too of remembering who has an aversion to what (cheese, olives, cucumber, etc.).
In a small bowl crumble in a 250g packet of feta cheese. Grate the rind of 1 lemon overtop. Add a sprinkling of fresh (or dried) thyme leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.
A wine & cheese party
Apparently, 3 kilos of cheese is produced per year per person on Earth*. This can mean only one thing - a lot of people out there love to eat cheese. Ok, so it’s not the best thing in the world for your heart, but the occasional over-indulgence is not a bad thing, especially if combined with vascular-health boosting red wine (limited to 1-2 small glasses a day).
Some of my favourite cheeses to serve include: creamy Gorgonzola, stilton, smoked Cheddar, goat’s cheese, Mont D’Or, Pont Leveque, Camembert, Brie, aged Dutch, Manchego, super-fresh Mozzarella or burrata (mozzarella filled with cream), 22 month-old Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino, and oh, a Boursin wouldn’t go amiss either.
However, don’t forget your occasional lactose-intolerant guests, perhaps serving a platter of cure meats (prosciutto, salami, bresaola, chorizo), as well as your vegetarians (houmous and yogurt dips, crudites, Spanish tortilla), and teetotalers (cranberry juices, sparkling water). And you certainly don’t want to forget your carboholics (crusty baguette, oat cakes, water crackers).
Some great accompaniments to cheese include tomato chutney or jam, quince paste, and tapenade. Oh, and according to Jamie Oliver, the following combo is also surprisingly tasty: a slice of cheddar, topped with honey with a sprinkling of freshly ground coffee! Try it and see.
* Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
Aperitivo hour: Smoked red pepper & feta dip
This dip looks quite coarse but is really delicious, especially when served with some warmed pita bread (and a few crudites wouldn’t go amiss either).
Try and track down a jar of Greek flame-roasted red peppers (350g), such as the Karyatis brand - these are as good, if not better than making your own. If you do make your own (i.e. roasting and peeling your own peppers) you will need about 3 whole red peppers. The process is so slow and tedious however I’m not going to bother describing how to do it here!
Roasting onions is a whole lot easier. Place 2 red onions or shallots (125g) in a hot oven (200 degrees) for about 35 minutes, till soft.
In a food processor, pulse together the red peppers and the peeled onions (don’t puree them into oblivion, they should looked chopped). Now add 180g crumbled Feta cheese, 3 tbs olive oil, 1 tbs sherry vinegar, 1tsp thyme leaves, chopped. Blitz till a coarse texture is achieve.
Note: for a creamier texture, add 3 tbs cream cheese along with the Feta.
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Aperitivo hour: Cheese & Chili Biscuits
This is a great way to revive dried out bits of cheese lurking at the back of your fridge!
In a large bowl mix together 150g grated cheese (I used Red Leicester), 150g finely cubed butter, 150g flour, a good pinch of sea salt, and a pinch of dried chili flakes.
Once all the ingredients have been incorporated into a rough dough (you can also used a food processor), roll out onto a floured surface and cut using a small cookie cutter (2.5cm wide, 1cm thick). Alternatively, roll the dough into a 2.5cm thick sausage (wrapping the dough in cling film may help) and cut into 1cm discs.
Bake in the oven for 12 minutes at 180c, making sure to keep some space between the biscuits as they will expand out.
Notes: These freeze (unbaked) really well, ready to be popped straight into the oven.
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Ricotta fritters
This recipe comes from Jamie Oliver and is the best little recipe for ultra-fresh ricotta cheese.
In a bowl, mix together 450g fresh ricotta cheese, 2 tbs grated parmesan, 2 tbs flour, 1 egg, and some sea salt and pepper. Set aside in the fridge for a few minutes.
Warm a little olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and fry the ricotta cakes in batches of heaping tablespoons and flip over when golden using a spatula. These are very delicate so give yourself some space between the fritters in the pan so it is easier to flip them over.
Serve straight away, either as a savoury dish with a little side salad of cherry tomatoes, basil and olive oil, or serve for breakfast with a drizzle of maple syrup or some granulated sugar.
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Spaghetti Squash and Swiss Cheese Quiche
This has to be the fluffiest, crispiest, cheesiest quiche I’ve ever eaten. Who knew a quiche could be so good?! I found it in the lovely rooftop canteen at the Manor department store in the centre of Zurich. The views are not bad either.
I will have to try and recreate this at home. The pastry base is a standard butter-based one, the quiche itself seems to have been made with a combo of eggs (whites whipped separately for a souffle-like lightness), bechamel, swiss cheese and strands of yellow spaghetti squash. It was served just out of the oven, with a crisp and golden shell on the outside.
Marinated goat’s cheese
This is a superb way to present and serve cheese at a party. If you are lucky enough to find individual portions of goat’s cheese then nab them, if not, you can simply cut thin slices from a goat’s cheese log (not too fresh or it will crumble). Arrange them in a shallow dish and then sprinkle with various herb marinades; dried thyme, pink peppercorns, crushed juniper berries, crushed coriander seeds. Drizzle with olive oil. You can now let marinate for up to a couple of days, or as little as a half hour before serving.
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Stuffed piquillo pepper appetizers - another super quick snack
I love these Piquillo peppers from Chili. They are already roasted and peeled, and have a lovely sweet and dense flavour. A real, back-of-fridge ingredient. Once stuffed with a white cheese and herb mixture they are a real treat. For instance, choose any white cheese combo from the following: soft goat’s cheese, curd cheese, quark, Greek yogurt, Lebanese labneh. Mix with any combo of the following herbs: chopped mint, chives, flat-leaf parsley, fresh thyme. A little crushed garlic, and some salt and pepper won’t do any harm either.
Serve them either whole, or in large slices on rounds of bruschetta or rye crackers.
Cheese on toast - French-style (a perfect snack)
Simplicity itself: toast a slice of French Walnut bread, top with a slice or two of brie (this works particularly well with a slightly dried out one leftover in the fridge). Microwave for a scant 5-7 seconds. Drizzle with olive oil and a little bit of fresh pepper.
