There’s been a distinct lack of ovine action on this blog so far and I think that’s partly because I didn’t realise just how many sheep’s cheeses were out there (remember, I did start this blog from the premise of ‘I am a cheese ignoramus’). In my defence, I think it’s fair to say that most people in the UK don’t associate sheep with cheese. In fact, let’s face it – given that almost a third of primary pupils think cheese is made from plants, they probably don’t associate cows with cheese either. But some of our favourite cheeses are derived from the woolly-backed beasts: Pecorino, Feta, Manchego and Roquefort, to name but a few.
Continue reading
Spenwood
Filed under cheese
Tooting Gold: When Home Cheese-Making Goes Bad
My area of London is quite trendy these days, with artisan producers popping up all over the place. We’ve got micro-breweries, had a flirtation with a wine collective and I can get honey from a lady round the corner. But cheese? Aha – no! There seemed a clear gap in the market for some urban cheese round here. And so my quest to produce a nice tasty cheddar began. I’d even thought of a name – Tooting Gold. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?
Continue reading
Filed under home cheese-making
Three Cheese Focaccia Bread
In Britain, you can spend all summer waiting for summer. Lifestyle magazines might be full of picnics, laid out on gingham table-cloths outside gypsy caravans, spotted bunting fluttering from the trees, but the reality is more likely eating squashed cheese sandwiches in the car whilst the rain hammers on the roof. And if you have small children, there’s no romance to picnics anyway, just constant complaints about grass in sandals, giant bees, the lack of crisps and how ‘disgusting’ your lovingly-prepared quiche is. Really, don’t bother.
Continue reading
Filed under Cheese Recipes
Pablo Cabrito
From the name alone you’d be forgiven for thinking that I’m eating a Spanish number this week, maybe also nibbling on some Ibérico ham and washing it all down with a glass of Rioja. But in fact, Pablo Cabrito, a soft unpasteurised goat’s cheese, hails from the sultry climes of Shropshire.
I have a bit of a soft spot for goats. I grew up on a farm but always found sheep a bit dull once they grew past the cute lamb phase. Cows were okay but after a nasty run-in with a herd of post-natal Friesians and a barbed wire fence, they were off the Christmas card list. Goats though have always seemed both full of character and infinitely practical. I used to write about goats for a living so could bore on for several pages about their virtues and even reproduce some rather fetching pictures of me wearing combat trousers and petting a pony-sized Toggenburg…but, hey, onto the cheese.
Continue reading
Filed under cheese
Cheshire Cheese Enchiladas in Mole Poblano Sauce
Mexico was the first holiday that the Other Half and I went on together. He remembers it mainly as two weeks of ensuring ready access to a lavatory but my stomach is made of famously strong stuff and so I have happy memories of fresh guacamole and salsa, bursting with chillies and lime, fish grilled on the beach, scrambled eggs with chilli and the famous mole poblano sauce. Often abbreviated to ‘the one with chilli and chocolate’, there’s so much more to this smoky, rich sauce (which is hardly surprising when you look at the long list of ingredients). Traditionally served over meat, especially turkey, in this recipe it pairs well with the salty, nutty Cheshire cheese.
Continue reading
Filed under cheese please challenge, Cheese Recipes
Blue Cheese and Nettle Drop Scones
It’s hard to be a big fan of nettles; if they’re not taking over your garden, they’re stinging your ankles. But there’s no denying that they’re good for you, packed as they are with vitamins and minerals. In fact, if you believe the herbalists, the nasty nettle can do everything from purify the blood to cure arthritis, increase a nursing mother’s supply of milk and prevent dental plaque. And they’re undeniably trendy these days, packing out the Sunday supplements with recipes for soup, flans and pasta.
Continue reading
Filed under Cheese Recipes
Reypenaer V.S.O.P.
Okay, okay, I’ll come clean from the start. This cheese is Gouda and I have eaten Gouda before. But although it said Gouda on the label, this one looked different, casually propped up against the back of the chiller cabinet with its ‘two year aged’ label. I’ll admit it; it looked expensive and a bit vintage. It was the cheese equivalent of being beckoned onto a yacht by a leathery-skinned old oligarch jangling his Rolex at me. Reader, I fell for it.
Continue reading
Filed under cheese
Cheshire Cheese and Marmalade Bread Tarts
I always thought that my older sister had invented bread tarts. Sunday afternoon would often find us pressing buttered slices of Mother’s Pride into bun tins and spooning in various concoctions of egg, cheese, bacon and mixed herbs. Bread tarts are perfect for children to make – no messy pastry and you only need a concentration span of about ten minutes. The tart ‘cases’ come out surprisingly crisp and most people never guess that it’s essentially flat toast. Perfect for a picnic or as canapés.
Continue reading
Filed under cheese please challenge, Cheese Recipes
Paneer Nilgiri Korma
Much of this blog so far seems to have seen me wistfully wandering country lanes in a fog of elderflowers and bluebells. But the truth of it is that I live in the city, where urbanity meets suburbia. It’s not very pretty and sometimes it’s a bit noisy and scary. But in just a ten minute walk, the culinary world is at my fingertips. From kaffir lime leaves to mango powder, salt-fish to kecap manis, I can buy pretty much any ingredient from around the world. And above all, I can eat curry. In the space of a mile I can eat Sri Lankan curry, Pakistani curry, Indian curry, Caribbean curry, Nepalese curry, Bangladeshi curry. It’s fair to say if I’m not cooking with cheese, I’m cooking a curry. But this is a blog about cheese. Cheese and curry?
Continue reading
Filed under Cheese Recipes
June’s Cheese, Please! – Cheshire Cheese
What better cheese to kick off the Cheese, Please! Recipe Blog Challenge than with Britain’s oldest cheese, Cheshire?
Claiming a history dating back to the Romans, Cheshire is still the nation’s favourite crumbly cheese. Given the changeable nature of the British summer, it’s also a perfect cheese for cooking with; on a sunny day it can grace salads and partner seasonal fruits but the next day, when sleet smacks down from the sky, it’s great for stodgy bean casseroles and baked spuds. If you’ve never cooked with it before, why not give it a go and share your recipe with others? (Okay, okay, if you live somewhere with absolutely no Cheshire Cheese, other hard crumbly cheeses may be employed…)
Continue reading
Filed under cheese please challenge
Fromage Homage 