The Cheeselover

Real Swiss cheese

2012-01-17T17:50:00.016Z

If you asked the proverbial man in the street which countries make the best cheese I’m sure Switzerland would be in their top three which makes it ironic that, Gruyère apart, we get hardly any Swiss cheese of note in the UK.

So it’s good to find a food writer colleague of mine Sue Style has written a really excellent book on the lesser known artisanal Swiss cheeses, called Cheese: Slices of Swiss Culture. It’s charmingly illustrated with old prints and paintings and covered with a edelweiss-patterned material which is apparently used for the shirts that are worn by cheesemakers, country music players and, er ... wrestlers.

We tasted three of the cheeses she writes about at a food writers’ get together before Christmas and they were totally delicious, particularly the gooey Vacherin-like Bergfichte from Willi Schmid of Lichtensteig. The others were an 18 month old Gruyère Surchoix and a Mont Vully Classique, a semi-hard Appenzeller-like cheese from the Fribourg canton

The book is thorough but never dry, explaining exactly how each cheese is made, how it tastes and the story of the producer she has chosen to represent it. What’s fascinating is how the French, German and Italian influences in the country all make their way into the cheeses. There are also details of tourist trails such as the Chemin du Gruyère and the Sbrinz route which runs through the mountains south of Lucerne.

Sue is also an accomplished cookery writer and there’s a short but appealing selection of recipes at the end of the book including a wicked-looking cheese pudding called Ramequin, a cauliflower and broccoli cheese with walnut crumble, cheese pasties with bacon and potatoes and - best of all, I suspect - a double decker ‘rosti’ sandwich filled with melted cheese which looks well worth abandoning the new year diet (what diet?) for.

You can buy Swiss cheese, as I’ve mentioned before, from KaseSwiss who are now back in Borough Market opposite the Monmouth Coffee Company on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and still at Druid Street on Saturdays. And you can buy Sue's book direct from the publisher Bergli here. At 49 Swiss francs (£33.63) it's not cheap but if you're a cheesemonger or a serious cheese aficionado it's well worth it.

My Christmas cheeseboard

2011-12-21T07:32:00.005Z

Last week we had what is becoming our annual Christmas Cheese School - an evening of cheese, wine and beer tasting which to be honest is more of a jolly than a class. But I put together this festive cheeseboard just to show you don't have to go down the conventional route of featuring 5 or 6 cheeses.

It was inspired by sprays of decorative crab apples I found in our local greengrocer (most of my time was spent trying to persuade people not to eat them - not that they were poisonous, just bitterly sour). I added a brightly coloured persimmon and a pomegranate which I halved to show the seeds, some of the Fine Cheese Company's Toast for Cheese I told you about recently and a large hunk of Stichelton, the unpasteurised version of Stilton. It was unbelievably simple and looked really pretty in the glowing candlelight.

Have a happy Christmas, one and all.

The Australian cheese scene part 1: Yarra Valley Dairy

2011-12-14T07:21:00.011Z

The Aussies are so good at everything food and wine-related I expected them to be brilliant at cheese too. It's coming but they still have a way to go, judging from my recent visit. Admittedly I didn't visit some of the best areas for cheese such as Gippsland and Tasmania but I'd say they were 4-5 years behind the states*.

They're hampered of course by the fact that they can't make unpasteurised cheeses, an extraordinary situation. Government intervention gone mad. They're campaigning against it as you can see from this poster in the cheese room at De Bortoli but until they get the right to work with raw milk they'll never make great cheese.

That was certainly the problem with the camembert-style cheeses I tasted at the Yarra Valley Dairy, one of the highlights of the trip in cheese terms but in every other respect it was a model modern dairy turning out interesting and innovative cheeses.

I particularly liked their marinated cheeses, Saffy and Cardi (Australians abbreviate everything!) made with saffron and cardamom respectively. They're softer than most marinated cheeses I've come across - more like a spice-infused spreadable cheese - and absolutely delicious. Saffy is made from cows milk and flavoured with saffron, cumin and lemon zest. Cardi, which is slightly smokey, is based on goats' milk. There's also a cheese called Juno (short for juniper, of course) which I didn't get to taste.

Jack Holman the cheesemaker also make a delicious Persian Fetta (sic) which is flavoured with olive oil, thyme and garlic and packed in rather dinky tins which are apparently served in Emirates first class. (I didn't get to experience that, sadly!) It would also be great crumbled into a salad or on pizza or flatbreads.

I also liked their Black Savourine - a Valençay-style ash-coated goats cheese though again this would have been better made from unpasteurised milk.

If you're in the area do visit them. They have s fantastic shop which also sells a lot of wines from small producers who don't have a cellar door. We tried the Bird on a Wire Marsanne (perfect with the Saffy) and a very good chardonnay called Salo which you can also buy from the excellent Barrique wine store in Healesville.

*For a more complete rundown on artisan cheeses in Australia read this recent feature in The Age.

Toast is the new biscuit for cheese

2011-11-25T20:59:00.007Z

I'm always struggling to find the perfect biscuit for cheese. I really don't like digestive biscuits and even find oatcakes a touch too sweet (except with blue cheese). I'm not a big fan of crackers and water biscuits though I do like crisp Italian-style flatbreads. Now along comes Toast for Cheese, the brainwave of the inventive Ann-Marie Dyas of the Fine Cheese Company in Bath (below).

I must confess I'm a huge fan of Ann-Marie's. She was the first to create biscuits and pastes to complement different cheeses, the first to devise attractively packaged cheese selections to sell online, the first cheesemonger - so far as I know - to sponsor a cheese festival and now she's discovered toast.

And not just any toast. Three different kinds studded with dates, hazelnuts & pumpkin seeds (for creamy cheeses such as Brillat-Savarin, Brie de Meaux and Vacherin Mont D’Or), apricots, pistachios & sunflower seeds for goats’ cheeses such as Valençay, Crottin de Chavignol and Ragstone and cherries, almonds and linseeds for blue cheeses such as Fourme D’Ambert, Stilton and Gorgonzola Dolce. Of course you can try other cheeses with them. I wasn't at all sure the apricot and pistachio biscuits wouldn't have been better with a slightly stronger washed rind cheese but the main point is that they look absolutely stunning and would make a great present for anyone you were visiting over Christmas. You can buy all three boxes for £7.50.

Here's what I did with the date, hazelnut and pumpkin seed ones at Cheese School the other week.

A Camembert roaster - the gadget you didn't know you needed

2011-11-17T11:24:00.007Z

I love it when a small producer writes and tells me about something they've created especially when it's as off-the-wall as this handmade Camembert roaster which is made by Sussex blacksmith, Alex Moore.

It's designed to roast boxed cheeses like Camembert on the embers of an open fire, or log burning stove. You simply unwrap your cheese, place it back in the bottom of the box and put it in the roaster's pan. Needless to say I immediately wondered what would happen if the box caught fire but, as you can see, the base is really thick so as long as you don't have flames flickering round it you should be fine, Alex told me.

If you don't have an open fire, you can apparently use the roaster on the top plate of an Aga or put into a conventional oven with the door ajar. You can also use it for chestnuts.

Let's face it, no-one actually needs an object like this but it's amazingly beautiful and a lovely thing to use for roasting cheese with the family around Christmas or any cold winter's night. The perfect present for a cheeselover.

The price is £58, including delivery to a UK mainland address and you can order it from www.mooredesigns.co.uk

PS have also spotted that they make some pretty funky garden benches and this lovely tree seat.

Knockdrinna Kilree goats cheese

2011-11-12T11:09:00.013Z

I'm always slightly sceptical about food and drink awards. What does it mean that a particular cheese is the 'supreme champion' in the British Cheese Awards for example? That it's better than any other cheese in the UK and Ireland? Surely not. More like it's an interesting cheese that deserves our attention and Knockdrinna's Kilree goats cheese is certainly that.

I got to taste it at the Fine Cheese Co's cheese festival in Bath a couple of weeks back and it's a delicious cheese by any standards. Not obviously goaty but with a really savoury tangy edge and a lovely clean faintly crumbly texture - firmer than a normal washed rind cheese. We made short work of the piece I brought home - it's the perfect nibbling cheese with a glass of light to medium-bodied red wine like a Saumur-Champigny or other Loire red.

The only problem is it's incredibly hard to get hold of outside Knockdrinna's farm shop in Co. Kilkenny and, I would guess, top Irish cheesemongers like Sheridan's. I presume the Fine Cheese Co has some, and maybe Neal's Yard. Saturday morning, when I'm peversely writing this post, isn't the ideal time to ring a cheese shop and check but I'll update on stockists as soon as I find out. (15th November: finally managed to confirm that the Fine Cheese Company does have it but Neal's Yard, Paxton & Whitfield and La Fromagerie don't! Odd for an award-winning cheese.)

Our idyllic autumn cheese school

2011-11-01T08:32:00.005Z

On Sunday we held our second all-day cheese school this year in the romantic and atmospheric surroundings of the Barley Wood Walled Garden at Wrington.

It was held in an decorated antique tent with cheesemaking demonstrations by Tim Homewood of Homewood Cheeses in the cider barn. (We were incredibly lucky that it was so mild for the end of October and that the rain held off!)

The tent had been decorated by Toast with candles, storm lanterns, bunting and apples

We had two visiting cheesemakers, Tim Homewood and Joe Schneider who makes the legendary Stichelton as well as our resident cheesemakers Todd and Maugan Trethowan of Trethowans Dairy.

We tasted all different kinds of cheeses and had our popular beer vs wine smackdown with Bristol Beer Factory and Matt Eggens of Avery's

We put together cheeseboards and seasonal cheeseplates like this one I based on Sparkenhoe's mature Red Leicester.

Tom Herbert of Hobbs House Bakery brought along a selection of his amazing breads and even handed out cupfuls of his 76 year old (I think!) sourdough starter.

Jack and Matt of The Ethicurean who run the cafe at the venue cooked a lovely lunch of beetroot and curd soup, Old Demdike (sheeps cheese) and pear salad with leaves from the vegetable garden and a gorgeous sticky toffee apple cake about which I've raved already.

And Jack and Peter Snowman of the Bristol Cider shop talked to us about apples and cider and cheese.

I also bought the most beautiful wooden cheeseboard which would make a lovely Christmas present. If you want one like it email wayneyedgeATyahooDOTcoDOTuk (he'll have a website soon)

A special day. All credit to Jess Trethowan and Cathy Gremin the heroic organisers of the event.

The next Cheese School is a special candlelit evening of cheese (and wine and beer, of course) in the beautiful medieval setting of St Thomas the Martyr church, Bristol on December 15th.

Why plastic doesn't do cheese any favours

2011-10-27T10:33:00.008+01:00

One of the things that most saddens me about cheese shops is seeing a counter full of cheese wrapped in cling-film. It may be wonderfully hygienic but it does nothing for the texture and consistency of the cheese. You can see soft cheeses like Brie bulging out of their packaging, struggling to breathe, emerging sweaty and oily - how did such a practice become standard?

I don't think vac-packing cheese does them much good either. I recently received a selection from the Northumberland producer Doddington (above, for which many thanks) which didn't taste a fraction as good as the version I tried in Neal's Yard* (below). A real shame as it's a lovely, lovely cheese with a rich deep taste and a crumbly, almost Parmesan-like texture.

In the new Hawksmoor at Home cookery book with which I've been involved they add it to mashed swede which is totally delicious.

Doddington also makes a range of other cheeses including one washed with Newcastle Brown. I suspect your best best would be to buy them somewhere local to the dairy.

* where, incidentally you'll see they don't totally cover the cheese just the paste (interior) which allows the cheese to breathe.

The perfect Brie de Meaux

2011-10-16T15:51:00.004+01:00

Brie has become so devalued as a cheese you forget what it's like when it's perfectly matured. Too often it's too cold and slightly chalky in the centre or allowed to age to the point where it's oozing over the cheeseboard and the rind has acquired a bitter, slightly ammoniac smell.

But this is how it should be, as served at a Parisian bistro called Le Baratin I've just reviewed on my natural wine blog. Beautifully rich and buttery with a delicate mushroom flavour, evenly matured right the way through, it was just a joy to eat and shows the benefit - as if it needed pointing out - of buying cheese from a supplier or shop where they know how to treat it.

So what on earth is the House of Castello?

2011-10-09T11:05:00.005+01:00

I had a flurry of emails on Friday offering me all manner of goodies from the House of Castello® (note the trademark) "an adventurous world of extraordinary cheeses". Not only would they send me some cheeses to try, including, presumably, their "rich and feisty Creamy Blue"and "fiery and experimental Black Pepper Halo" but a hamper, a bottle of wine, a cheese slate and a set of cheese knives*.

There's obviously some serious money behind the brand which has an expensively-made ad screening at prime viewing time during Downton Abbey tonight involving a bunch of rather louche aristos "celebrating the decadence of Castello®". According to the industry website utalkmarketing.com the campaign is directed by Jonas Akerland who makes videos for Lady Gaga, apparently the inspiration behind the campaign.

So who on earth are House of Castello of whom, I confess, I'd never heard? Turns out it's Castello, the fourth largest speciality cheese brand in the UK which is owned by a large Scandinavian company called Arla, according to this report in The Grocer. Arla also owns Lurpak and apparently aims to do for cheese what the New World has done for wine.

I haven't tried the cheeses, admittedly, and they may for all I know be insanely delicious as well wildly decadent but since one of them is Danish Blue I somehow doubt it.

I'm also not sure how they can claim, as they do on their website, that there actually was a cheesemaker called the Marquis de Castello who was "renowned not only for his amazing cheeses, but also for his outrageous and indulgent parties". All a bit of fun, I guess they'd say.

But following on from the Alex James Asda range I commented on recently it certainly indicates that there's some serious money to be made in cheese - and indeed in dairy as Yeo Valley's rather more stylish new YouTube video shows. I suspect we'll be seeing more of the same.

How do you react to this kind of campaign? Would it be likely to make you try a new cheese?

* and just in case you were wondering, I decided to resist the gifts but will try the cheese when I get the opportunity ;-)

More on macaroni cheese

2011-10-08T08:19:00.002+01:00

Those of you who have followed this blog for a while will remember the Ultimate Macaroni Cheese Challenge a couple of years ago which was won by Helen Graves of Food Stories.

Now the Guardian's excellent Felicity Cloake has turned her forensic eye on the subject in her 'Perfect' series exploring what indeed it is that makes the perfect macaroni cheese. You'll need to read the piece for the full lowdown and recipe but a couple of useful tips which is rinsing the pasta in cold water once you've cooked it and using a fair amount of sauce, a conclusion I've come to myself after trying a Simon Hopkinson recipe for baked pappardelle with pancetta and porcini the other day. I thought there must be a mistake it contained so little pasta but he was - of course - right.

She's on more controversial ground with her breadcrumbs and tomato topping which Guardian readers, a vocal lot, weren't all sure they approved of. Which is one of the joys of a recipe like this: people defend their corner so fiercely.

Anyway, you can find Felicity's recipe here (scroll down to the bottom of the article).

St James washed rind sheeps' cheese

2011-10-04T09:37:00.002+01:00

I passed Neal's Yard Dairy in Borough Market last week which has found a fiendish new way to lure you into the shop (not that I need a great deal of encouragement): a table outside with cheeses to try.

The one that appealed to me most was St James, an unpasteurised, brine-washed sheeps' cheese that's made by Holker Farm Dairy in Cumbria. It's not new - it won the James Aldridge Award for 'Best Unpasteurised Cheese of the Year' back in 2005 but it hadn't entered my radar.

I'm not even sure I've had a washed rind sheeps' cheese before but like most sheeps cheeses it wasn't quite as rich as cows' cheeses - a benefit when you have the unctuous texture of a washed rind cheese to contend with. As you can see it was in perfect condition - wonderfully rich and savoury, but not over the top flavour-wise. So not particularly 'stinky'.

Further proof, if proof were needed, that British cheeses are up there with the best in the world. You can read more about it here.

Guest post: Gen's cheddar & wholegrain mustard croquetas

2011-09-29T18:48:00.006+01:00

It's been a while since I've posted a recipe but when I heard about the cheddar croquetas my friend Gen cooked for her supper club the other day I begged her to tell me how to make them.

Gen's a very talented food stylist and writer whose blog ‘An Egg a Day’ charts her adventures in urban hen keeping and egg cookery. She recently started an occasional supper club with a menu that includes as many eggs as possible. This is how she describes it:

"Saturday night saw the second ‘egg supper’, planned as an early autumn feast of fruit, cheese and meat. On the menu was a rabbit and prune pate, served with spiced apricot chutney, Keen’s cheddar & wholegrain mustard croquetas, pork & pears braised in cider, a mojito sorbet and a plum, almond & amaretto crumble served with glorious homemade custard.

Undoubtedly one of the stars of the show were the croquetas. The recipe started out as a germ of an idea, constructed in my mind as an anglicized version of the gorgeous Spanish jamon croquetas I love so much. I used Keens cheddar for this recipe as it's one of my favourites. I knew it would be smooth enough to melt gorgeously but robust in flavour with a strong earthy taste that wouldn’t be overpowered by the mustard. If you can’t get hold of Keens, substitute any other extra mature cheddar.

I was so pleased with the result, they were quite delicious - rich, crunchy and deeply savoury - just as I imagined them to be in my edible daydreams!"

Cheddar & wholegrain mustard croquetas
Makes 28-30, enough for 4-6 generous helpings.

800ml milk
1 small onion, peeled & cut into quarters
1tsp whole black peppercorns
2 sprigs rosemary to infuse in milk
100g butter
150g plain flour
200g extra mature cheddar, grated
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
200g fine dried breadcrumbs
2 eggs, beaten
Vegetable oil for deep frying

In a heavy based plan, bring the milk up to boil along with the onion, peppercorns and rosemary. Reduce the heat to as low as possible and simmer gently for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.

In a clean saucepan, melt the butter, then add the flour and stir together to form a roux. Strain the milk and pour onto the roux and whisk until combined. Cook until thickened, stirring all the time to prevent lumps or sticking. You will end up with a rather unappetizing thick and gloopy white sauce - have faith. Add the cheese and mustard mix throughly until combined, scrape into a flat dish and spread out to cool, pressing down a layer of cling film to prevent a skin forming. Once cool, chill in the fridge for an hour or two to firm up.

When you are ready to begin shaping the croquetas, set yourself up a production line with the beaten egg in a small bowl and the breadcrumbs on a large plate. Take a generous dessertspoonful of the chilled mixture and shape into a little rugby ball. I found it easiest to do this with a combination of the scoop of the spoon and the palm of my hand. Drop gently into the egg then lift out and roll in the breadcrumbs until coated all over. Transfer to a clean plate. Repeat with the remaining mixture then chill again for at least 30 minutes. They will rest quite happily in the fridge for 24 hours making it a good fiddly job to do ahead of time.

To cook, heat a deep fat fryer to 180°C and fry in batches for 3 minutes until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper. Alternatively heat a litre of oil in a large saucepan. When a cube of bread dropped in takes 60 seconds to turn a deep golden brown the oil is hot enough to cook. Cook in batches, taking care not to overcrowd the pan as this will result in a dramatic drop in temperature.

These croquetas are really rich and great served with something a little crisp and sharp, like a peppery watercress salad. As an added bonus, the croquetas, shaped and rolled, freeze really well. Cooked from frozen - they will take a little extra time to fry - they make a gorgeously indulgent and quick supper. Lovely with a glass of chilled dry sherry, or even an icy cold beer straight from the fridge.

Are you scared to try new cheeses?

2011-09-23T11:04:00.008+01:00

According to a survey by the British Cheese Board released today one in 10 of us is scared of trying a new cheese.

I suppose one should be heartened that 9 in 10 of us aren't but I always find it surprising that anyone is scared of food. I only have to find out about a new cheese - or new anything - and I want to try it and I guess that applies to many of my regular readers too.

But suppose you do feel like that? How do you move out of your cheddar (and, I suspect, brie) comfort zone?

A lot of it I suspect has to do with intensity of flavours. I know many people - my husband is one - who don't like strong blues like Roquefort or stinky cheeses like Epoisses. But the answer is not to avoid that style of cheese completely but find a milder example of it.

If you find Stilton too strong for instance try a milder, mellower Barkham Blue or Gorgonzola Dolce.

If you run a mile from pongy cheeses try something like a Tallegio which has that gorgeously gooey interior of a washed rind cheese without its pungent smell.

You could also think of trying a sheeps' cheese like Manchego or Berkswell which doesn't tend to be too strong or a mature Gouda or Mimolette which has a nicely rounded nutty flavour. (Waitrose does unscary examples of all these.)

And what about the many other English regional cheeses, many of them mild and mellow - Caerphilly, Wensleydale and Red Leicester to name but three?

Of course the best way to extend your knowledge of cheese is to go to a cheese shop or deli that will let you have a taste - or, if you're in the vicinity, head for the British Cheese Festival in Cardiff this weekend. Or come to our Cheese School on October 30th, says she, ruthlessly grasping the opportunity for a quick plug!

You can also identify the British cheeses you might like on the British Cheese Board's new flavour map. Click on the pins near the centre for milder cheeses.

Try one new cheese a month and you'll soon be an expert.

Do you stick to the same few cheeses? If you tell me what they are I'll suggest a new cheese for you to try!

Nopi's courgette and manouri cheese fritters

2011-09-14T17:14:00.018+01:00

The big boom in restaurants doing breakfast has resulted in many more places offering inventive cheese dishes to start your day. This was an amazing dish I came across at Yotam Ottolenghi's Nopi last week where I attended the launch of David Lebovitz's glossy new book Ready for Dessert - an odd venue, really, when you think about it when it's all about puddings not cheese. Although I don't see any reason why you shouldn't make his delicious Ricotta Cheesecake with Orange and Aniseed for breakfast. Apart from the fact it contains a good slug of marsala, perhaps.

Anyway, back to Ottolenghi's fritters which were amazing. Lighter than fritters have any right to be though I'm not sure if you followed the recipe which I happily came across in the Guardian here they would be the puffy balls in the restaurant rather than the slighly flat burger-shaped patties in the recipe shot. They come with lime flavoured yoghurt which was wonderfully refreshing and some punchy bitter leaves.

They also served some really delicious chard and feta (I think) pastries at Nopi with black and white sesame seeds on the base which look really easy to knock up.

Sometimes the cheese thing gets a bit out of hand, though. This rather unlovely dish with house braised beans, salted ricotta, lemon, mint and poached egg at the hip Clerkenwell breakfast spot St Ali was less well thought out. Particularly as you had the rather weird option of ordering it with a kipper.

Have you come across any good breakfast dishes that include cheese lately?

PS you can see many more beautiful pix of the breakfast delights at Nopi on David Lebovitz's blog here. Meaning more beautiful pictures than mine ;-)

The ultimate cheeselover's weekend

2011-09-10T09:57:00.010+01:00

If you love cheese, visit the West Country the last weekend of October.

There are two great all-day events on.

On Saturday 29th there's the Fine Cheese Company's cheese festival at Milsom Place in Bath which features over 20 artisanal cheesemakers. I went last year and it was fab. You get a fantastic chance to taste the best of British cheeses.

And on the Sunday Trethowan's Dairy and I have our latest Cheese School which is being held for the first time in the beautiful Barley Wood Walled Garden (above) at Wrington, just outside Bristol. Inspired by the surroundings - there are also some amazing orchards there - we are going to focus on cheese and apples and apple flavoured drinks including, of course, cider and local cheesemaker Tim Homewood of Homewood Cheeses will be showing you how to make your own cheese in the old cider barn.

There will also be talks from Joe Schneider producer of what I think is currently Britain's best blue cheese, Stichelton, an unpasteurised version of Stilton, a French v British cheese tasting and a wine and beer 'smackdown' to see which is the best drink with cheese - or at least the cheeses we field on the day.

You can find more information and booking details on the Cheese School website including some recommended places to stay. The picture below, by Rob of Eat Pictures, is of our 'Amazing Tastes' session where you get the chance to create your own cheese plates and boards!

Two new ways of serving goats cheese

2011-09-03T09:39:00.009+01:00

Our fortnight in France has produced a couple of new ideas for serving cheese - as it usually does.

The first was an elegant course in a restaurant that should by rights have had a Michelin star, La Renaissance in Argentan which is also considerably more interesting than it looks from the website. Small balls of goats cheese were mixed with apricot and chopped lavender and set in the centre of fine, crisp savoury biscuits. There were also shards of apricot alongside and some kind of apricotty syrup, hard to determine, admittedly, in the rather fuzzy low-light picture above.

You almost certainly wouldn't want to go to that trouble but you could easily prepare the cheese that way and serve it with homemade breadsticks or biscuits. We'd finished our wine by that point but it would have been perfect with a sweet wine like a Jurançon or a Pacherenc-de-Vic-Bilh.

The other was at a wine bar in Bédarieux called Chai Christine Cannac where they served goats cheeses of different ages with honey, fleur-de-sel (coarse, unprocessed sea salt) and olive oil. The rather dishevelled appearance of the slate is due to the fact that it was ordered not by us but the next door table. When I was asking Ms Cannac about it she said she was sure her friends wouldn't mind if I took a snap of it. So I did.

Serving cheese with salt is of course not the healthiest option but I can imagine it would add an appealing crunch. A bit like that gorgeous French butter with salt crystals.

Why Alex James's Asda cheeses are a rip-off

2011-08-26T08:16:00.008+01:00

Having been away this week I've only just picked up on the debate on ex Blur guitarist Alex James' foray into flavoured cheese. Apparently he's collaborated with Asda in developing a range of cheeses flavoured with tomato ketchup, salad cream and tikka masala paste among others.

I'm not going to rehearse all the arguments here as they've already been well covered by the Guardian Word of Mouth blog and fellow blogger Chris Pople's Cheese and Biscuits. And to be fair I haven't tried the cheeses but it seems to me there's a principle at stake.

Which is why does a (presumably) rich ex-rock star who has already established a reputation for making artisanal cheese need to get into bed with a supermarket? Couldn't he have used his clout, as he initially did, to boost Britain's small cheesemakers?

I imagine the justification is that it encourages kids (and, given the retro nature of the flavours, unhealthy adults) to eat cheese but is it not more about creating a 'value added' product for which Asda can charge more than its basic cheddar?

Even James's own 'Best Ever' cheddar at £10 a kilo is £2.50 a kilo less than his ready sliced Cheddar with Salad Cream 'blankets'. You can buy Cathedral City mature cheddar at Asda at the time of writing for £5.71 a kilo while Asda's own mild cheddar will only set you back a fiver. A whole jar of Asda Smartprice salad cream which you could slather all over your sarnie costs just 50p.

And the free publicity from the controversy must be worth several hundred thousand pounds for the chain.

At least Jamie Oliver in his collaboration with Sainsbury's tried to raise the bar for their customers.

Maybe James has run through his millions. Maybe they all have. Blur has apparently got together to record a new album. But I still doubt, despite his protestations of being 'hugely passionate' about his new range, that he eats Asda cheeses at home.

James hits back at his critics on Asda's blog by labelling them 'food prigs' and 'snooty imposters' so what do you think? Should he be using his influence this way or would you do the same in his place?

Where to buy cheese at a service station (in France, of course)

2011-08-21T14:07:00.004+01:00

One of the redeeming features of French service stations is that they almost all sell a good selection of local products. At the aire Les Volcans d'Auvergne on the A71 just north of Clermont Ferrand, however, they go overboard selling giant packs of dried mushrooms, industrial-sized jars of potée, Puy lentils (of course) and all manner of weird and wonderful liqueurs and eaux de vie. But the main attraction is a full-blown cheese counter where you can buy the Auvergne's many excellent cheeses.

On Thursday as we were passing through there were whole Saint Nectaires and piles of garlicky Gaperons, Salers and Cantal, Bleu d'Auvergne and at least half a dozen goats cheeses. And not just from one cheesemaker. Several local producers were represented.

The only downside in this heat (38°C today) is how to transport them without them deteriorating or stinking the car out. But if you've got tightly sealed cool box and are travelling down to - or back from - the south take advantage.

A simple sheep and goats' cheese board

2011-08-16T21:56:00.007+01:00

Cheeseboards, as I've said, before don't have to be massive affairs featuring six or seven different cheeses. In fact it's far less wasteful if they're not.

Here's a simple one based on sheep and goats' cheeses from one of our two good local cheese shops Chandos Deli in Bristol. Top left a fresh young pecorino, at the bottom a silky-textured Montenebro goats' cheese and top right (and below) a slightly Roquefort-ish Beenleigh Blue ewes cheese from Robin Congdon of Ticklemore Cheese in south Devon. All have character but none are too strong which makes them a good selection for a red wine such as rioja. And equally good for someone who's intolerant to cows' milk.

And I like their paleness against the dark grey slate.

An interesting veggie lasagne

2011-08-07T08:13:00.010+01:00

I'm never totally convinced by veggie lasagnes but this open lasagne, ordered at our local Italian Rosemarino, was a cracker. Granted it doesn't look much (though my hastily snatched low-light picture doesn't help) but the combination of ingredients - spinach, walnuts and fontina cheese - was spot on.

I found some similar recipes on the Bon Appetit site here and this recipe site so it's probably just a question of adding some chopped toasted walnuts to your spinach (along with some other ingredients, obviously) and using a mild, melting cheese like Fontina. Or maybe making a walnut paste as Georgio Locatelli does in his superb Made in Italy Food and Stories. Walnuts seem to be a much more common element in savoury dishes in Italy than they are here.

Anyway I've asked the restaurant for the recipe. Cross fingers they're willing to share it! (And they've come up with the goods! See below though I reckon it would serve at least 8)

Lasagna Vegetarina
Open lasagne of spinach, ricotta, walnut & fontina
(serves 6)

Ingredients

For the filling:
1kg of baby leaf spinach
1kg of Ricotta cheese
200g of toasted, chopped walnuts
4 large shallots
3 cloves of garlic
250g of Fontina cheese
Salt, pepper & nutmeg (to-taste)

For the pasta dough:
550g of plain flour
4 whole eggs & 6 egg yolks
2 tbsp of good olive oil
Pinch of salt
Semolina for dusting

(Good fresh lasagne sheets can also be used as a short cut but if you have a pasta machine it’s nice to use it)

Method
Pasta:
• Combine all ingredients in a food mixer until the dough forms a ball • Rest in fridge for at least an hour • Roll by hand to a thickness of 3mm • Feed through a pasta machine dusting with semolina if necessary until you get to the second thinnest setting • Cut into squares of roughly the same size, approximately 10cm
• Blanche in boiling water for 3mins then refresh in iced water • Pat dry and coat lightly with olive oil, chill until required

Filling:
• Thinly slice the shallots and garlic and cook gently in olive oil until soft but not coloured • Add the spinach and cook until wilted • Cool quickly and use a sieve to squeeze out any excess water • Mix in the ricotta & chopped walnuts
• Grate in a little nutmeg and season with salt & pepper • Thinly slice the Fontina cheese

Assembly: • Place a pasta sheet on an oiled tray • Spread 3 tbsp of the spinach mix evenly over the pasta and top with a slice of Fontina • Repeat twice, (its nice to place the pasta sheets at different angles), bake for ten minutes • Serve with good Italian bread (we recommend fresh focaccia) and a salad of your choosing.

For an English twist ‘Rachel’ goats cheese, from the White Lake Cheese Co. in Somerset, makes an excellent alternative to Fontina.

Rosemarino is at 1 York Place, Bristol BS8 1AH.

How I learned to love brown cheese

2011-07-25T20:59:00.006+01:00

It's been a standing joke for a while between me and my friend Norwegian-born author and blogger Signe Johansen of Scandilicious that I Don't Do Brown Cheese. She has constantly maintained it's delicious while I - on the strength of tasting it some 25 years ago - felt equally strongly that it was an abomination. Or I did until last Thursday when I finally got round to tasting the real thing - Ekte Geitost.

It comes in a drum and you slice off slices with a Scandi-style cheese slicer - either to top crispbread or to melt into a sauce as she did with the meatball gravy she served at her pop-up supper.

It taste not like soap, as I remembered, but more like salted caramel or the Mexican goats milk caramel, cajeta. In other words, delicious though I'm not sure I would go as far as to top it with lingonberry jam as Sig does, a peanut butter and jelly-ish combo that obviously appeals more to Norwegians than it does to me. There's a heart-tugging advertisement for it here on YouTube which somehow seems especially poignant after the tragic loss of all those young lives over the weekend.

Anyway I take back all the sneery things I've said about it over the years. To dismiss it out of hand is like saying that cheddar is rubbish on the basis of tasting Kraft cheese slices. Sure it's not hugely cheesy but then nor is mascarpone or even some of those triple cream cheeses. It's different. And it's good.

I'm going to buy some next time I'm in London (they sell it at the Scandinavian Kitchen in Great Titchfield Street) and experiment with it, starting with brown cheese and bacon baked potatoes which I reckon would be terrific made with sweet potatoes. You heard it here first . . .

Berkswell, tomato and bobby bean salad

2011-07-19T16:49:00.007+01:00

Here's a great idea for a salad I came across the other day at a Restaurants in Residence event in Docklands which was hosted by the supper club Shacklewell Nights.

It was put together by Jonathan Woolway, who's a sous-chef at St John and bore its trademark stamp of simply cooked seasonal ingredients.

This how he prepared it. (I've left it as he wrote it as I think it reads admirably well.)

Large vine tomatoes halved and roasted long & slow (with xtra virgin, s&p, bay, thyme) till they start to yield on the sides.
Bobby beans are blanched and then refreshed to maintain bite and colour.
Pea shoots
Olive oil croutons
Sherry vinaigrette (1 part sherry vinegar, 3 parts olive oil)
Grated Berkswell [sheeps' cheese] tossed through the salad and shaved Berkswell on the top.

I had a go at it last night sans pea shoots which I couldn't find locally and it worked almost as well but would suggest a couple of tips:

* Make the croutons out of a light bread like ciabatta so they go crunchy without getting hard

* I don't think you need sherry vinegar necessarily. A good red wine vinegar would do, possibly with a few extra drops of balsamic.

* the Berkswell I used didn't quite add the piquancy I was looking for and tasted in the original. If you can't find a really nutty one, try an aged pecorino or even parmesan.

But a great salad - fresh and seasonal. Just lovely at this time of year.

You can see my write-up of the other dishes and wine pairings on my website matchingfoodandwine.com

Serra da Estrela - Portugal's Mont d'Or

2011-07-10T21:32:00.005+01:00

I've been in Portugal for the last few days finding out about cork and spending a day in the Vinho Verde region. I remember from my last visit a few years ago that there are some amazing Portuguese cheeses but this time found only one - Serra da Estrela, which is named after the highest mountain range in Portugal.

It's a totally delicious semi-soft sheeps' cheese that's served with the top cut open so you can dunk your bread or toast in its gooey interior. The milk comes from Bordeleira sheep which feed on wild mountain plants and herbs. It's coagulated with cardoons rather than animal rennet which makes for the silky flowing texture - not unlike a Vacherin Mont d'Or.

It's actually quite mild and buttery so you could drink it with a mature red - which is what the Portuguese themselves would do but we enjoyed it with a 2007 Alvarinho from Quintas de Melgaço.

Do try it if you get the chance.

Two summery cheeses from Homewood

2011-06-29T15:34:00.010+01:00

Today has been the best day of summer so far. Gorgeously sunny but not too hot - just the sort of day to go to Bristol's weekly farmers' market.

I haven't been for a while - I always seem to be up in London midweek - so it was good to see some old friends including the Angela's Kitchen and Homewood's Dairy stall which sells delicious cheeses, jams and jellies.

They had two today that I thought really suited the weather - a fresh, not over-salty feta-style cheese (above) which I think would be great with beets and broad beans and a 'pickled cheese' of unpasteurised ewes cheese in Somerset sunflower oil (top), a great storecupboard ingredient which lasts a couple of months. I doubt if I can wait that long though. I'll probably open at the weekend and have it with flatbread, slow roast tomatoes and olives though I've just spotted they have a recipe for a spinach and pickled ewes' cheese slice and also serve it with nasturtium flowers which sounds very pretty.

They're also selling some tasty pickled sheeps' cheese and spring onion tarts

Apparently they also do Bath Farmers' Market on a Saturday. You can also buy their cheeses from the Trethowans Dairy shop and from Abel & Cole.

Warm pasta salad with tomatoes, mint, lemon and ricotta salata

2011-06-21T15:48:00.010+01:00

I've never used ricotta salata before but was urged to try it the other day by Patricia Michelson of La Fromagerie. Here's what it looks like from the outside . . .

And cut side upwards . . .

It's a salted type of ricotta that's hard enough to grate . . .

Patricia suggested using it to make a simple plate of pasta with fresh tomatoes which I expected to taste like a pasta dish but tasted more like a warm salad. Which is what I've called it. Lovely, light and summery for the warm weather I'm sure we're going to have sometime this summer. Aren't we (she asks hopefully?)

Serves 2

225g penne
400g ripe tomatoes, chopped small
4 tbsp olive oil
leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh mint, torn into small pieces
rind and juice of half a lemon
75g ricotta salata, coarsely grated
salt and pepper

Bring a large pan of water to the boil, add salt and cook the pasta for the time recommended on the pack. Chop the tomatoes small and mix with the olive oil and torn mint leaves. Strain the pasta reserving a couple of tablespoons of cooking water. Return to the pan and tip in the chopped tomatoes, lemon juice and rind and reserved pasta water. Season to taste with pepper and a little salt. Serve in warm bowls generously scattered with the grated ricotta salata.

I have a feeling some lightly cooked peas would be good with this too. You could also add a few snipped chives.

Munster and Gewurztraminer: a classic cheese and wine pairing

2011-06-12T07:14:00.006+01:00

I’ve spent the last few days in Alsace and can’t remember when I found a region so dominated by a single cheese. Even the Jura has Morbier and Mont d’Or as well as the ubiquitous Comté.

It is, of course, Munster the washed rind cheese named (it’s thought) after the village of the same name though there are suggestions that it may have been a corruption of monastery as it was first made by monks.

It’s typically served locally (as above) with cumin seeds and a glass of gewurztaminer, Alsace’s exotically perfumed off-dry wine which complements it perfectly. (I prefer the drier styles with it to the off-dry and certainly the sweet (Vendange Tardive) versions.)

Interestingly I found the Munster generally served younger than I would have expected presumably because of its pungent smell. The one exception was at the Taverne Alsacienne at Ingersheim where they serve a younger and more artisanal version (right) together. Needless to say the latter was the one I liked best.

3 clever cheeseboards

2011-06-03T11:50:00.018+01:00

It's good to see restaurants getting more adventurous about the way they serve cheese, forgoing the lumbering cheese trolley (a pet hate) for stylish plates or boards. Here are three I've come across recently.

First, an individual cheeseboard (above) at the London members club Blacks. I was deep in conversation so forgot to ask what they were but think I spot a Tallegio and some kind of alpine cheese. (Likely to be Italian anyway as the owners come from Italy).

Next a cheese board at Marcus Wareing's new restaurant The Gilbert Scott (below). I like the matching chutneys - fresh pear with the blue cheese, apple with the goats' cheese (unusual but good) and a really intriguing savoury orange conserve with what I think was a cheddar though could have been a Lincolnshire Poacher.

And finally a lovely cheese plate that was served at a natural wine dinner at the South London wine bar Artisan & Vine, again with an Italian cheese, Fiore Secano, British Barkham Blue, some tiny cubes of candied peel, a scattering of roasted nuts and a drizzle of ... not sure but it was delicious. If I find out I'll let you know. Oh and a piece of Sardinian flatbread.

Mossfield organic

2011-05-27T17:05:00.005+01:00

It's always fatal to go anywhere near a good cheese shop, even if you only go in to taste as I did this week during the course of my researches for a feature for Culture cheese magazine. (Well worth subscribing to if you're a cheese nut)

I've ended up with 8 different cheeses in the fridge mostly from La Fromagerie but couldn't resist this Gouda-style cheese from Paxton & Whitfield. It's made in County Offaly in southern Ireland and has an incredible depth of flavour without the dryness or saltiness that sometimes goes along with that. Not unlike the Prima Donna I wrote about a year or so ago but better. And its organic.

Get the mature one though (Paxton's told me the one I bought (above) was nine months old) rather than the younger cheese which is curiously bland by comparison.

They also have a Facebook page - as all self-respecting cheeses seem to do these days . . .

Comté cheese country

2011-05-20T08:52:00.017+01:00

I've spent the last two days in the Jura mountains finding out all about Comté cheese. The feature will appear in Decanter but I just thought I'd post some pictures of the area which is absolutely stunning.

As you can see (above) the cows look ridiculously happy as well they might with this kind of pasture.

Which translates into this fragrant hay which feeds the animals during the winter

This is a typical dairy or fruitière which is co-owned by the farmers

The cheesemaker testing the consistency of the curds - still done by hand

Cheeses after a couple of weeks of maturation

And after a couple of years . . .

Et voila! Comté cheese.

Max Allen and Will Studd's Cheese & Wine App

2011-05-09T18:20:00.006+01:00

I'm a big fan of both Australian* wine writer Max Allen and cheese expert Will Studd so immediately downloaded their Cheese & Wine app on my iPad. It's a great idea from two people who really know their stuff and are great presenters but it doesn't quite come off.

The app is divided into four sections: Match Cheese which talks about cheese styles, Wine List (wine styles), some useful articles that have been published in Gourmet Traveller and some more videos. Or at least they seemed to be extra videos but one or two appear to be the same ones that you get directed to download through the previous sections.

The odd thing was that it took over 10 minutes to download the first one (though admittedly my broadband isn't the fastest) and only a couple of minutes to do it through the video section. Can't fathom that. The videos aren't that long either - a minute and a half, if that.

This has the feel of an app that's been rushed out to establish the pair's undoubted authority on the subject rather than creating something that would be really useful to the consumer. There's some great advice and some interesting suggestions for wine pairings I hadn't thought of such as cloth-bound cheddar with a mature sparkling red and Gorgonzola and red Lambrusco - just not quite enough of it.

No reason to complain when it only costs £1.19 but I hope subsequent versions will have more content.

*Actually he was born in England but you'd never know it from the accent!

Stuck for a present? Give cheese!

2011-04-19T12:56:00.007+01:00

I received a great present this week from an old friend I’d had to dinner recently - a box of cheeses from her local cheese shop in Louth. Obviously it was tailormade for a cheese addict like me but it made me think what a great way it was to give a taste of your local region to any foodie friend.

Lincolnshire is not particularly noted for its cheese - apart from the cheddar-like Lincolnshire Poacher but there was also a Lincolnshire Red (made to a similar recipe to a Red Leicester), a Brie-style blue and mild yellow-waxed cheese from Cote Hill, a plum loaf and a very good jar of apple and onion-based. Lincolnshire chutney. I particularly liked these accompaniments - a chance to taste cheese in a different way. They both went particularly well with the 19 month old Poacher.

Most cheese shops do something similar - sometimes with booze. Paxton & Whitfield for example does a ‘Cider and Blue’ box with Caradon Blue and ‘Ernie & Gertie’s’ cider, the aptly namd Pong does an ‘Ultimate Pong Box’ of its smelliest cheeses while the Fine Cheese Co in Bath does an elegant Spring/Flower Show Box among other topical boxes.

And if you’re just looking for a small gift to take to someone who’s invited you for a meal I love the nutty, crumbly Maris Otter malted barley biscuits (above) I was sent recently by The Little Rose Bakery which won a gold medal in last year’s great taste awards.

So how much of a cheeselover are you? Would you rather have cheese - or something to go with it - than a box of chocolates or a bottle of wine when someone comes to dinner?

Sarsden sheeps cheese

2011-04-11T20:58:00.006+01:00

It's a great sign of the health of artisan cheesemaking in Britain that you keep coming across new - and really good - cheeses. This was one I tried at the Stroud Farmers' market on Saturday made by Karen and Roger Crudge who make cheese with milk from Wayfield Farm near Stratford upon Avon.

They say it's a gruyère type cheese but I don't really get that. It's not as smooth though it does have a real depth of flavour and a fuller, creamier consistency than, say, Berkswell. They recommend it with fig and ouzo jam!

They apparently sell at Stroud on the 2nd and 5th Saturdays (when there is a 5th Saturday) and Woodstock, Chipping Norton, Deddington, Hebington (Oxford) and Wolvercote (Oxford) Farmers Markets. There's a nice piece about them by local foodwriter Matthew Fort here.

Not quite in the same league but I also enjoyed a Boursin-style pepper cheese (above) from Brinkworth Dairy and a convincing organic Cotswold Mozzarella from Simon Weaver in Upper Slaughter.

Four good restaurant dishes with cheese

2011-04-05T17:29:00.010+01:00

I'm always on the lookout for interesting cheese dishes on restaurant menus and here are four recent ones which would be simple enough to adapt at home. (STILL writing my current book so I haven't had time to roadtest them but they should, I hope, inspire you!)

First a shallot tart tatin with goats cheese cream (above) at The Albion pub in Islington. Clever presentation - it looks just like a classic apple-based tatin with a scoop of what looks like icecream melting into it. The chef, Richard Turner, says you use 'unripened' goats cheese, beat it until smooth then add double cream and continue beating [until you get a scoopable texture, I would guess] They served it with a few rocket leaves and a drizzle of wild garlic purée.

Next a rather dramatic looking dish of burrata, basil and blood orange at Yotam Ottolenghi's new restaurant Nopi. I'm not sure I don't prefer my burrata (a richer kind of mozzarella) roughly torn Jamie Oliver-style but the combination with blood orange and coriander was brilliant.

Then Gorgonzola and date croquetas from The Opera Tavern, a great combination of sharp, salty, sweet and gooey. (I love croquetas in any guise.)

And finally, a deliciously old fashioned starter of creamy smoked haddock in individual ramekins at the Brown & Forrest smokery in Somerset. Just flaked smoked haddock in a bechamel with a bit of strong cheddar added and grated cheddar on top. Perfect comfort food.

Cradoc's savoury biscuits

2011-03-27T17:13:00.006+01:00

I'm usually underwhelmed by ready made cheesy biscuits but I came across these at the Love Food spring festival in Bristol earlier today and thought they were delicious.

The range has been created by Allie Thomas of Brecon and includes flavour combinations like Stilton and Cranberry and Pear and Earl Grey I wouldn't generally go for. But the flavours are so natural and the texture of the biscuits so perfectly crisp that I ended up buying four packets. Other flavours include Leek and Caerphilly and Perl Las and Walnut. They'd be great to put out with drinks.

There's also an Italian style flatbread flavoured with rosemary that would look lovely on a cheeseboard.

Apparently Allie is on the way to getting some Bristol delis to stock them but in the meantime you can buy them at various Welsh farmers' markets. Contact her on 01874 624339 or through her Facebook page.

The Cheesemaker of Auld Lochnagar

2011-03-21T07:27:00.002Z

This last weekend I was at the Cheese & Wine Festival on London's Southbank, giving a talk on cheese and wine matching with Rhuaridh Buchanan of Paxton & Whitfield.

One of the cheeses we tasted was a cheddar-style cheese called Auld Lochnagar and Rhuaridh had brought the impressively kilted cheesemaker, Alex Reid of Cambus O'May (above) along to his stand.

It turned out that he had been in the oil business but had decided to revive the family cheesemaking tradition with a recipe from his grandmother that hadn't been used since the 70s.

His principle cheese is an unpasteurised cheddar-style cheese called Cambus O'May which is made from the curds from an evening and morning milking in the old farmhouse style. You can just about see the variation in the colour, below.

It's clean, mellow and well-balanced - not as sharp as a cheddar but with a real depth of flavour.

The deep orange Auld Lochnagar, which is coloured with annato (see back of the main picture), is aged for longer and has more 'bite' though again not as pronounced as a mature farmhouse cheddar. It's therefore rather kinder to wine - I paired it successfully with an organic Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon from Vintage Roots - and, according to Alex, a good match for a Speyside whisky!

The creamery is based in Ballater on Royal Deeside and the cheeses are widely stocked throughout Scotland. You can also buy them online from the Virtual Farmers' Market as well as at Paxton & Whitfield.

Coolea for St Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T08:32:00.006Z

Having covered Welsh cheeses a couple of weeks ago I should in fairness make mention of Irish ones which are if anything even finer.

If you're out shopping for them today you might like to look at a couple of back posts on Irish cheeses - here and here on St Gall.

Today though I wanted to flag up Coolea (pronounced Coolay), an underrated pasteurised cows' milk cheese in an underrated style, mature Gouda. Although, checking the slightly out of date website, it did win the best matured Gouda category in the World Cheese Awards. You can see it above going through the brining process.

It's not perhaps as flashy as more fashionable cheeses such as Cashel Blue and Adrahan but I've always found it deliciously rich and nutty. A great nibbling cheese.

You can buy it in London from Neal's Yard. For other stockists see their website.

Incidentally I'm going to be at the Cheese and Wine Festival in the Southbank centre square at 3pm this coming Saturday talking about cheese and wine pairing with Ruaridh Buchanan of Paxton & Whitfield with wines from organic supplier Vintage Roots both also exhibiting at the show.

Welsh cheeses for St David's Day

2011-03-01T14:09:00.009Z

I meant to post this over the weekend however I'm just about still in time to pass on the info that there are some tutored tastings of Welsh cheese in the John Lewis food hall in Oxford Street later today - one at 5.15pm, one at 6.15 and one at 7.15. You're supposed to book ahead but I can't imagine they'll turn you away if there are places.

They also sent me a selection of Welsh cheeses to try and I was quite chuffed that I'd tried - and written about - all except two. They included Golden Cenarth, an award-winning washed rind cheese, Gorwydd Caerphilly, Hafod cheddar and Perl Las (above left) a salty, creamy blue cheese quite similar to Gorgonzola I only found out about recently.

The only ones I wasn't familiar with were Perl Wen (top right), a Brie-type cheese also made by Caws Cenarth and a block Pembrokeshire Extra Mature Cheddar (above, right). I'm inclined to be a bit sniffy about block cheddar but it was really quite mellow and appealing, more attractive to tell the truth than the Hafod which was tasting a bit rustic and cow-y, rather like Cantal which I've never been too keen on.

Anyway, point made. The Welsh do make some good artisanal cheeses as you'd expect given their terroir. Teifi is another one I like. And I'm sure you can find them at John Lewis over the next few days even if you miss today's sessions and tastings.

Incidentally the oatcakes, in the top pic, were rather nice too. And also Welsh but I can't tell you what they are as my husband has scoffed them and thrown away the packet.

Paški Sir: my first Croatian cheese

2011-02-24T17:46:00.009Z

Having never been to Croatia I've not had an opportunity to try Croatian cheese and didn't expect to be able to buy it in the UK. Or even, to be honest, to be particularly impressed by the quality. But when Sirana Gligora, a Croatian producer offered to send me a sample, I was definitely up for it.

It's a relatively new artisanal sheeps' milk cheese called Paški Sir that comes from the island of Pag which according to the accompanying information sheet "is the most indented of the thousands of Croatian islands in the Adriatic."

You can see pictures of the leggy sheep the milk comes from on their very enterprising Facebook page here Apparently it's a unique breed which has become accustomed to the harsh conditions on the island and which grazes on the wild plants and herbs that are found there.

In taste and texture it was a bit like a cross between a Manchego and a Pecorino - moister than the former, deeper in flavour than the latter. Really delicious though I didn't go much for the accompanying fig balls (just me. My husband scrumped them). Apparently it's already picked up a number of awards including Best New Cheese at the 2010 World Cheese Awards.

It's imported by a firm called D'Issa who will have a full website up and running shortly but you can currently buy it from the shops below:

The Cheese Hamlet in Manchester
The Yellowwedge Cheese in Twickenham
The Cheese Society in Lincoln
The International Cheese Centre in London
Lairds Larder in Carlisle and Sawyers Deli in Belfast

They also have a blog which shows how the cheese is made and even a twitter stream (@PaskiSir). It's good to see an artisanal producer making such smart use of social media.

What’s special about Cheese School

2011-02-20T11:29:00.015Z

As co-founder of Cheese School I’m probably the last person who should be writing this post but I do think we’ve got something very special going and I think the key to it is the participation of cheesemakers and other artisanal producers.

At our last session two weeks ago (mea culpa - I meant to write it up before now) we had the legendary Charlie Westhead of Neal’s Yard Creamery who makes Perroche, Dorstone and Ragstone and Maughan and Kim, Todd Trethowan’s brother and sister in law who make Gorwydd Caerphilly talking about how they make and mature their cheese and how the seasons affect it.

Andy Cooper from the Bristol Beer Factory and Matt Eggens of Averys of Bristol went head to head in our ‘Beer versus Wine’ ‘smackdown’.

We copped out and told them they’d both won. Well, we want them to come back and do it again, don’t we?

Elly and Dan from the brilliant underground supper club Montpelier Basement came in and made an amazing lunch of cauliflower soup with Welsh rarebit (above) and Homewood fresh ewes cheese with blood orange and marmalade croutons (below), the recipes for which you can find on Dan’s blog Essex Eating and ellypear's posterous

We also had some delicious bread from Marks Bread, coffee from Cornwall roasters Origin Coffee and fruit from the Bristol-based Better Food Company. And food photographer Rob of Eat Pictures took some great pix which you can find on his posterous blog here. Grateful thanks to all.

So what next? Well, we’re planning a big outdoor event for the summer which we’ll tell you about as soon as we’ve fixed the date (probably July) but the really great thing is the number of producers and other good people who want to come along and do a session with us. So it’s gradually growing . . .

and another way to use Ogleshield . . .

2011-02-12T08:46:00.004Z

Couldn't resist trying this at the (very clever and imaginative) London restaurant Caravan yesterday: a dish of turmeric roast cauliflower, Ogleshield cheese sauce and Parmesan crumbs - a left-field version of cauliflower cheese. The cheese sauce had an amazing gooey consistency which I suspect was achieved by simply melting the Ogleshield into cream or milk. I liked the touch of spicing up the cauliflower. It could even have done with a shade more for my taste.

I suspect you could make a regular cauli cheese with this type of sauce. A few smoky bacon cubes would be nice too although I really liked the crispy parmesan thingy on the top which was more like a cheese infused slice of bread than crumbs.

Delicious anyway . . .

My Ogleshield obsession

2011-02-03T08:15:00.017Z

I've been tasting a fair few cheese burgers lately but none seems to hit the spot quite as nicely as the one they do the cult London steakhouse Hawksmoor. (Quick declaration of interest here - it also happens to be my son Will's restaurant so I'm hardly unbiased!)

Part of the reason is that it's topped with Ogleshield, an unpasteurised brine-washed, Jersey milk cows' cheese. It was originally created by visiting cheesemakers at top cheddar producer Jamie Montgomery and refined by a Neal's Yard affineur, Bill Oglethorpe, hence the name.

The great thing about it - apart from the rich, mellow taste - is that it melts brilliantly, much like raclette. Hawksmoor also uses it for their wackily named Egg HkMuffin - an artisanal riff on the McDonald's breakfast special with a homemade sausage patty (right).

There's a lovely recipe from Rose Prince for some Ogleshield pastries on the Telegraph website and I have a feeling it would make an amazing tartiflette. We're featuring it at Cheese School this weekend so I'll bring some home if there's any left over and give it a whirl.

You can read more about it on the Neal's Yard Dairy site here

Will Manouri be the new halloumi?

2011-01-23T14:21:00.009Z

I haven't come across much in the way of interesting cheese dishes lately - except for this one at Kiwi chef Peter Gordon's new cafe Kopapa

It topped a bruschetta of white bean purée (laced with herbs by the looks of it), braised cavolo nero and tomato yuzu jam.

I liked the Manouri. It was lighter and moussier than halloumi and less salty than feta, of which I discovered from Juliet Harbutt's excellent World Cheese Book, it is a by-product. In Greece they use it in sweet dishes as well as savoury pies like spanakopita in much the same way as the Italians use ricotta. It's usually made from ewes' or goats' milk though and obviously has a firm enough texture to stand up to frying.

I wish it was more widely available. (The Greek food specialist Odysea seems to import it but doesn't currently sell it in their online shop.)

Ubriaco Capra: a great cheese to pair with red wine

2011-01-08T12:53:00.007Z

I'm always on the lookout for cheeses to match red wine (which clashes with so many cheeses, especially washed rind and blues) but had forgotten about Ubriaco an Italian cheese matured with the skins, pips and seeds left over from red wine making.

As a result it has a savoury, vinous taste of its own which seems to chime in perfectly with red wine, especially if you eat the rind - as you're encouraged to.

The only downside is that it's not cheap. This version which I bought from Selfridges Food Hall cost £38.50 per kilo. According to a quick search on Google it comes from the Veneto, is made of goats milk and is matured in the skins of Traminer grapes. I think it would be great with a good Valpolicella or any medium-bodied Italian red come to that. It was certainly fine with a Côte du Rhône Villages.

I seem to remember buying a slightly cheaper version in Waitrose a while ago which may still have it in their larger branches.

What to do with the leftover Stilton?

2011-01-02T18:07:00.005Z

You may have managed to get rid of the turkey but I think it's a fair bet you still have some cheese you bought before Christmas lurking in the fridge. And only one day left to use it up before you go back to work if you don't want to find it awaiting you whiskerily next weekend.

Here are six simple ideas that will avoid it going to waste:

* Make a quiche. The advantage being you not only give yourself a meal for tomorrow but the basis of a packed lunch or light supper on Tuesday or Wednesday. Here's the Stilton and leek quiche (above) I posted a couple of years ago.

* Make a mac'n'cheese. Remember the Ultimate Macaroni Cheese challenge last year? There were lots of great variations on the classic that would use up odd bits of cheese. Here's Signe Johansen's version which used four different kinds.

* Make a creamy Stilton linguine. Doesn't sound quite as romantic as Gorgonzola but it's a great supper for one and dead simple.

* Make a steak sandwich with caramelised onions and Stilton - or Stichelton. Like this one here.

* Make Stilton butter. Beat equal quantities of crumbled Stilton and room temperature butter with a wooden spoon, season generously with freshly ground black pepper and a little salt if you think it needs it. You can also add a tablespoon of finely chopped parsley. Spoon the flavoured butter onto a piece of foil, shaping it into a rough rectangle. Roll the foil around the cheese mixture to form a cylinder, twisting the ends of the foil like a Christmas cracker and chill until firm - or freeze. Put a slice on a steak or burger (having brought the butter back to room temperature).

* Make 'fromage fort', a classic French way of using leftover bits of cheese. First cut up your cheese and remove the rinds. Whizz a couple of peeled cloves of garlic in a food processor, add the sliced cheese and pulse until you have a thick paste. Add just enough white wine to make a spreadable consistency and season with cayenne pepper or chilli powder to taste. (For a stronger version you can add a spoonful of brandy). The spread keeps in the fridge for a couple of days and makes a tasty topping for crackers, crostini or toast.

Oh, and a Happy New Year to you all!

Christmas Cheese School

2010-12-22T09:33:00.010Z

It’s hard to be objective about events in which you’re involved but I thought our Christmas Cheese School was just lovely. About 20 of us sat round a long candlelit (and electric heater-lit, hence the red glow) table in the nave of St Thomas the Martyr a late 18th century church in the centre of Bristol. (I confess I didn’t know what this part of a church was called but found the answer within seconds when I Googled it. The wonder of WikiAnswers.)

We kicked off with a talk on winter cheese by cheesemaker Todd Trethowan who explained how his Gorwydd Caerphilly changes at this time of year (the cows feed on silage rather than fresh grass which results in a more intense flavour) why you sometimes can’t buy goats cheeses (if the cheesemaker lets the goats kid) and why Vacherin is now at its best (you only have to taste it to see for yourself). We also found it went wonderfully well with the mulled cider donated by local producer Orchard Pig.

Cheesemonger Alex Te-Strote valiantly talked about how to put together a Christmas cheeseboard through several layers of cold while Andrew Cooper of the Bristol Beer Factory persuasively argued the case for putting beer as well as wine on the table.

Then I took a different angle on matching cheese by pairing Joe Schneider's Stichelton (the amazing unpasteurised version of Stilton) with a Douro red, Monbazillac sweet wine, the Bristol Beer Factory’s Ultimate Stout, local producer Bramley and Gage’s Sloe Gin and Avery’s Bristol Cream sherry. (The most popular pairings seemed to be the Monbazillac and sherry though I was very taken with the stout)

The evening was punctuated with bursts of festive organ music played by one of the Trethowans Dairy cheesemongers Charlie Usher (below with mulled cider) who won the title of young composer of the year a couple of years ago. Talk about versatile . . .

The next all day Cheese School is on Sunday February 6th at Bordeaux Quay. If you're in a panic for a last minute Christmas present you can buy gift vouchers here!

Borough's night cheese market

2010-12-17T10:39:00.013Z

After a bit of lull on the cheese front I’ve spent two consecutive nights at cheesy Christmas events. No, I don’t mean panto but Borough Market’s Evening of Cheese in London and our own Christmas Cheese School in Bristol about which I’ll report in a day or so.

I’d missed out on the Borough event last year so was determined to make it. Held in the Jubilee market it brings together all the cheese traders and shops in and around the market including Neal’s Yard (of course), French affineur Hervé Mons and a brilliant Swiss stand, Käseswiss which I’d been meaning to visit for a while. You could (and I did) buy mulled cider then wander around the stalls nibbling. There were so many great cheeses you don’t normally get the chance to taste of which the Bermondsey hard-pressed cheese (below) must be the most recherché.

Needless to say I spent far too much including a box of delicious but wildly expensive Elvas apricots I bought from a Portuguese stall together with a fabulous sheeps cheese called Casa d’Agua Levada, set with cardoons ...

... a good hunk of the most perfect Comté from the convincingly French-looking John of Hervé Mons (below) and L’Etivaz, a Swiss cheese made from summer milk.

There’s a full list of Borough Market’s cheese suppliers here

I was wondering, as I was nibbling, what is the best Christmas cheese. Stilton/Stichelton are obviously candidates. A good artisanal cheddar? An aged Comté? Vacherin Mont d’Or - although I associate that more with January? What’s your seasonal favourite?

Candlelit Christmas Cheese School

2010-12-09T15:02:00.007Z

A quick plug for those of you who live in or can get to the West Country next week - we have our first Christmas Cheese School next Thursday (December 16th), a candlelit tasting at the wonderfully atmospheric St Thomas the Martyr church in Bristol.

This is a mini, seasonal version of our all-day cheese schools with three rather than the usual six elements:

* A talk about winter cheese by cheesemaker Todd Trethowan of Gorwydd Caerphilly - i.e. what sort of flavours you can expect from your favourite cheeses at this time of year

* A talk on how to put together the perfect Christmas cheeseboard by Ben Ticehurst, head cheesemonger of Trethowans Dairy

* and an exploration of different drink pairings with Stichelton and Stilton by me. Blues are one of the most interesting cheeses to match as they work just as well with fortified wines, spirits, beers and liqueurs as they do with still wines.

There are still a few tickets available (at £40 a head) but they're selling fast so get in quick! If you miss it we have another all day cheese event on February 6th for which you can buy gift vouchers on the Big Barn website (they also sell a number of the Trethowans' cheeses and their scrumptious new range of matching jellies)*. The last day for orders is December 18th.

* And no, just in case you were wondering, I'm not on commission!

Knaafeh: a most unusual cheesecake

2010-11-28T09:16:00.008Z

The other cheesy highlight of my trip to the Lebanon was a wickedly delicious dish called Knaafeh which is commonly served for breakfast. It’s a bit like a cheesecake based on a rubbed pastry called mafrookeh and topped with a stringy cheese which tastes like mozzarella.

It is generally served with a syrup made from orange flower water and sometimes in sesame bread which would obviously add a fair bit to the calorific overload.

The pictures are of one we tasted in Patisserie Douaihy in the Place Sassine, a really friendly pastry shop and café.

I was planning to try and make it when I got back but having studied this recipe from Anissa Helou, a food writer who leads trips to the Lebanon, I can see it’s not that straightforward - unless you can order the pastry from a Lebanese shop. I may just have to head back to Beirut . . .

Lebanese breakfast cheese

2010-11-22T07:24:00.010Z

One of the many fascinating discoveries of my trip to the Lebanon last week was the Lebanese breakfasts which - surprisingly for an intensely sweet-toothed country - were mainly savoury and based around cheese. There was usually more than one kind - a salty, feta style one (Akkawi), halloum (like halloumi) and labneh which is not strictly cheese at all but strained yoghurt drizzled with olive oil.

They were served with fresh tomatoes, crunchy strips of cucumber, olives and various kinds of flatbread of which my favourite was mana’eesh or mankoushe, a pizza-style bread which is dusted with za’atar (a mixture of thyme, sumac and sesame seeds) At one winery, Heritage, they also served home-made jams - apricot and a gorgeous fig one flavoured with aniseed.

You can also buy mankoushe on the go when they will roll it up like a wrap. Incredibly cheap at about 90p. And totally delicious.

Real Cheese Toasties

2010-11-13T09:13:00.005Z

When you suddenly realise it's 2pm and you haven't thought about lunch there's nothing that hits the spot quite so successfully as a cheese toastie. Particularly one made with proper bread and real artisanal cheese.

The trouble is that since tasting the legendary Trethowan's Dairy's toastie my home-made efforts seem to fall woefully short but yesterday's effort (seen above, half-munched, before I remembered to take a pic of it) wasn't bad.

I used the last of the Sparkenhoe red Leicester, a French Roscoff onion (there's posh!) and two thinly cut slices of sourdough bread, assembled the sandwich in a frying pan into which I'd poured some olive oil, flipped it over a couple of times then gave it 10 minutes in the AGA. (Absurd. The whole process took far too long but at least the onions were completely soft and mingled seductively with the cheese). It would have been a lot easier to have made it on my contact grill but the idea of hauling it out and cleaning it afterwards just for one sandwich seemed a real faff.

Sometimes I use a bit of butter in the pan which I think helps crisp and brown the crust and adds extra flavour.

What about you? What's your recipe for the perfect toastie? Should we have a cheese toastie comp do you think?

Making cheese with cardoons

2010-11-05T14:42:00.006Z

One of the most fascinating things i discovered at last weekend’s Cheese Fair was what cardoons look like - or at least what they look like in the form in which cheesemakers get to handle them. They’re widely used in Spain and Portugal and Mary Holbrook, who I referred to in the last post, uses them to make Cardo and Tilleys, which I’ve mentioned before on this blog (though managed to misspell).

Cardoons are a thistle-like plant which grow up to about 7 foot high. The stamens are picked and dried - a bit like saffron stamens. "You want cardoon with as much purple in it as you can get" said Mary. It’s traditionally used to make sheeps’ cheeses but she uses it with goats milk when she has a plentiful supply in the summer and believes it gives her cheeses a special flavour and texture. “It’s the cardoons, not my cheesemaking which give character to the cheese” she said modestly.

“We have to grind the stamens to break them then add warm water and infuse them for 20 minutes then filter it and stir it into the milk. You have to do this extremely thoroughly otherwise you can get parts of the milk coagulating and others staying liquid. The process is quite quick - it takes about the same time as making normal soft or hard cheese.”

Despite the trickiness of the process and the difficulty of getting hold of the stamens Mary thinks there’s no substitute for the raw ingredient. “I’m not looking forward to the day when they have liquid cardoon rennet” she said firmly.

Meeting some of Britain's best cheesemakers

2010-10-31T20:50:00.018Z

Yesterday I went to Bath to check out the Fine Cheese Co’s Cheese Festival in Milsom Place, an opportunity to meet and buy cheeses from 14 of the best artisanal cheesemakers in the country. The Fine Cheese Co, which is run by Anne-Marie Dyas, is always a step ahead of the game: it was one of the first to sell cheese online, and to come up with matching biscuits and condiments for cheese which are still hard to beat for quality.

There were quite a few cheesemakers whose cheeses I was already familiar with such as Keen’s Cheddar, Bath Soft Cheese, White Lake, Sharpham, Ticklemore and Charlie Westhead of Neal’s Yard Creamery (above) but it was good to meet one of my heroes, Mary Holbrook of Sleight Farm, in person (top of the page) and taste right through her range.

I also got to meet Suzanne Stirke of Fortmayne Dairy in North Yorkshire (above) who makes Richard III, a fine traditional style of Wensleydale (and hope I've managed to persuade her to go on Twitter!).

And I discovered a lovely unpasteurised Red Leicester from David and Jo Clarke of the Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Co. The cheese hasn’t been made in the county for 20 years and not on a farm in the county for over half a century.

The event really underlined what magnificent cheeses we have in this country. I hope it's something the Fine Cheese Co. will sponsor every year.

Six Devon cheeses

2010-10-25T20:59:00.008+01:00

I did a couple of cheese and wine matching classes at the Dartmouth Food Festival this weekend with local winemerchant Liam Steevenson of Red & White in Kingsbridge.

Fittingly we used six Devon cheeses. Two were familiar to me - Quicke's Traditional Mature Cheddar which we paired with Chateau Lezongars Premières Côtes de Bordeaux and Beenleigh Blue, a Roquefort-like ewes' cheese from Ticklemore Cheese in Totnes which we matched with a sweet Bordeaux, Domaine de Noble Loupiac. (I'm not sure about the vintages which weren't on the tasting sheet - sorry!)

There were two from Sharpham Dairy, also in Totnes - a very attractive creamy Brie which paired beautifully with a fresh-tasting Beaujolais: Fleurie 'La Madone', La Reine de L'Arenite and a new cheese called Sharpham Savour, a tangy mixture of cows' and goats' milk that was apparently created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of South Devon being designated an area of outstanding natural beauty. We matched that with an Urbino Rioja Crianza - the most successful of the reds for me.

The other two cheeses were Norsworthy, a hard goats' cheese which we partnered with a Domaine Jean-Claude Chatelain Sancerre and Curworthy, a mellow Cheddarish cheese which was paired with La Secreto Carmenère, a lush fruity red from Chile that I thought slightly overwhelmed it.

Although the people who came clearly felt most comfortable about red wine with cheese most were converted by the the goats cheese and Sauvignon Blanc and sweet wine and blue combinations. And I must say I was impressed by the cheeses. A tasting based on six from one county isn't bad.

How runny do you like your cheese?

2010-10-21T10:59:00.004+01:00

I've been spending the past couple of weeks in France (hence the absence of posts), the last few days in Burgundy where smelly cheese reigns supreme.

This is the Epoisses they serve at a restaurant called Ma Cuisine in Beaune which, as you can see, is so ripe it forms liquid pools on the plate.

For me this is too ripe. I find cheese acquires a bitter note if it's allowed to mature this long which overwhelms its natural flavour. It also tends to knock the stuffing out of any accompanying wine - especially reds. (You can find the alternative pairings I suggest here.)

I also think it looks unappealing - like three large buttery cowpats. I prefer my cheese to retain its original shape.

But I'm aware I may be in a minority. Many cheeselovers, I know, adore their cheese to get as runny as this. What about you? And what do you drink with it once it's this far gone?

Five different ages of Parmigiano Reggiano in five different textures

2010-09-21T08:58:00.007+01:00

One of the highlights of my recent trip to Parma was a visit to Massimo Bottura's Osteria Francescana in Modena, a restaurant which was recently voted sixth best in the world.

The dish I was most intrigued to taste was one called Five different ages of Parmigiano Reggiano in five different textures. It consisted of a soufflé of 24 month old parmesan, a crisp galette (40 months), an 'air' made, I discovered from his recipe from the crusts of 40 month old Parmigiano Reggiano and grated 50 month old, a foam made from 30 month old parmesan and a rich creamy sauce made with a 36 month old cheese.

Intriguingly it came about a third of the way through the meal rather than at the end like a cheese course. (I'm not sure I wouldn't have preferred it later on.)

It was brilliantly clever, beautiful and absolutely delicious but do you know what? I'm not sure I don't prefer my parmigiano served simply as they do here (at La Greppia in Parma).

Golden Cenarth: Britain's best organic cheese

2010-09-11T15:34:00.007+01:00

One of the best food events of the year is the Organic Food Festival in my home town of Bristol which this year is celebrating its tenth anniversary.

It's always interesting to see which products win the dairy section. For quite a few years now it seems to have been a dairy product like a yoghurt or a crème fraîche but this year it's a cheese, Caws Cenarth's Golden Cenarth.

It's a washed rind cheese with a gorgeous undulating orangey rind that looks quite like a Vacherin Mont d'Or. The taste is comparatively mild though - it's washed with cider and the sample I tried had obviously not been allowed to get over-pongy. In fact the one I bought and opened just now could have done with keeping another 10 days or so. But you could see that it has the potential to be spectacularly good.

Caws Cenarth who are based in West Wales not far from Swansea also make a salty blue, Perl Las and a smoked Caerphilly or Caerffili, one of the few smoked cheeses I've tasted that I've actually enjoyed. The cheesemaker is Carwyn Adams (below), grandson of the original farmers and cheesemakers Lizzie Wyn and Leisa Jones, although he started his career as an engineer.

Do you agree with the judges decision or have you tasted a better organic cheese?

Southbank Cheese and Wine Festival

2010-09-07T18:34:00.010+01:00

I can't believe there's a cheese and wine festival in London next month and that I'm going to manage to miss it. And by just a matter of hours! I'll be in France, which is of course, a good place to be from a cheese point of view but not back till late on October 17th, the last day of the festival. (It starts on Friday 15th).

Anyway for those lucky bods among you who can make it, the theme this year is 'Produce of the World' which means there will be cheeses to taste and buy from France and Corsica, Holland, Italy, Sardinia and Sicily, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Austria and of course the UK and Ireland.

Highlights include demonstration of how to make cheese in 40 minutes from Leagram Dairy's Bob Kitching, a demo from BBC Masterchef winner Steven Wallis, who will be making a salad of Tallegio with pickled pumpkin, figs, hazelnuts, autumn leaves and truffled sourdough croutons (I'd go for that alone), a demo and book signing with Patricia Michelson of La Fromagerie and a . . er . . . gift wrapping demonstration with 'international gift wrapping expert' Arona Khan of whom I must confess I hadn't heard, not moving in international gift wrapping circles. I also like the sound of a 'mobile deli dedicated to Sicilian cheeses and wine'.

There's a lot more info on the website www.cheesewinefestival.com. The festival takes place at the Southbank Centre Square off Belvedere road behind the Festival Hall.

Sacanova

2010-08-29T14:45:00.005+01:00

I know Sacanova sounds like a Russian tennis player but it's not, it's a cheese. An aged Mahon to be precise. It comes from the island of Menorca with which I feel a particular affinity as my daughter-in-law comes from there. And I've eaten Mahon cheese before.

I didn't expect to find it in Waitrose and to be honest I wonder how much demand there is for it. It's nice enough but doesn't blow you away as much as you'd expect from an unpasteurised cheese, let alone one that's rubbed in olive oil and paprika. It's not particularly punchy or spicy - more like a semi-soft Scandinavian cheese with slightly more ooomph. The sort you'd have for breakfast or nibble with some Spanish ham.

The label describes it as having "a fudgy finish" which doesn't help much. It's certainly not like any fudge I've tasted. And I'm surprised they grade it as 6 in strength.

That said it's not expensive at £16.87 a kilo and it's mellowness would certainly make it an accommodating partner for red wine - I suggest an aged Spanish red like a Rioja reserva.

Home made halloumi

2010-08-20T07:47:00.007+01:00

Not a recipe, I'm afraid just a revelation. Which is how much better homemade halloumi tastes than the mass-produced shop-bought version. As you'd expect.

I came across it in one of our most inventive local restaurants Flinty Red where the chef Matthew Williamson had decided to make his own, grill it and serve it with roasted tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil (apologies for the blurry iPhone shot). It was absolutely delicious.

Needless to say there are loads of recipes on the net if you Google 'How to make halloumi' but I liked the look of this version from blogger Alessandra Zecchini which uses smaller quantities than most and includes step-by-step photographs of what the cheese should look like at each stage (though not all the recipes suggest brining it as this one does). Anyway it really doesn't look difficult.

Have any of you made halloumi and would like to comment?

Beecher's Handmade Cheese, Seattle

2010-08-11T18:05:00.008+01:00

Back at the beginning of my US trip which already seems like several months ago we spent a day in Seattle and, as you do, nosed around the Pike Place market. I can't say I liked it much - it's become too much of a tourist attraction rather than a place to buy great food but it does have a very clever cheese shop called Beecher's which has its own dairy thus underlining the company's boast that they sell 'handmade' cheese.

Their signature cheese Flagship is nothing to write home about to be honest. The standard version is like a rather dull medium-matured block cheddar but the way it's sold is nothing short of brilliant. The dairy runs down one side behind large plate glass windows (above) so you can see everything that's going on. (The cheese is sold from the other side and there's takeaway in the front including what they immodestly describe on the website as 'The World's Best Mac'n'Cheese'. You can even buy it frozen by overnight delivery if you live in the States.)

What I did like were the 'cheese curds', tubs of fresh cheese curds you can nibble as a snack - apparently known as 'squeaky cheese'. They suggest you can toss them with greens, combine them with pasta or use them as a pizza topping (some were flavoured with herbs and garlic and chipotle peppers). I also - unusually for me - liked their flavoured cheese which is called Marco Polo and contains peppercorns but found their 'Blank Slate' dessert cheese which is blended with honey a tad too sweet (I imagine I'd be in a minority there).

Also good were the packs of 'cheese papers' so that you can wrap your cheese back home like they do in the shop, books and other cheese paraphernalia. And their website's full of useful information about cheese styles, storing and serving cheese and what wine to pair with it.

They're apparently going to open a shop in New York next year. I'd love to see something similar in the UK.

More on the Oregon cheese scene

2010-08-04T18:04:00.008+01:00

The main - and pretty well only - frustration about my recent trip to Oregon was not managing to get down to the Rogue Creamery, which makes one of America's best blue cheeses. (Though I did at least manage to taste some)

However I came across some other great cheeses including this beautiful looking ash coated goats' cheese called Sunset Bay from Rivers Edge. As you can see it has a line of smoked pimenton through the middle which didn't greatly affect the taste but made it look very exotic. And it had a wonderfully silky texture.

It was served rather beautifully by John D'Anna of Cristom winery on a marble slab with two other local cheeses: Adelle (bottom left) a rich bloomy rinded cow and sheeps' cheese from Ancient Heritage Dairy and Boerenkaas, a hard Dutch-style cheese from the Willamette Valley Dairy (top left). The fourth cheese - improbably - was English Yarg.

I was also gutted to be missing what looks like the ultimate cheese dinner - a collaboration between Quady North, the Oregon winery Anne Amie, Rogue and Tim Keller of the Carriage House at the Nunan Estate in Jacksonville. Here's the menu (just to make you equally green . . .):

Amuse
Vella Asiago "Taffy"
Chamomile Pollen - Grapes - Raw Almonds & Black Pepper
Quady Winery Palomino Fino

Appetizer
Rogue Creamery Lavender Cheddar Cherry Apple Pizzetta
2009 Anne Amie Pinot Gris

Rogue Creamery Touvelle Cheese & Mushroom "Omelet" with Pommes Frits
2009 Annie Amie Riesling

First Course
Cypress Grove Purple Haze Chevre - Plain Curl of Chevre with Flower
2007 Anne Amie Prisme

Shaved Pholia Farm Hillis Peak & Duck Carpaccio - Pearl Onion - White Bean -Truffle Oil
2007 Anne Amie Pinot Noir

Second Course
Rogue Creamery Chocolate Stout - Mocha Poached Salmon with Grilled Corn & Cheese Risotto Cake
2007 Quady North 4-2 A Syrah

Grains of Paradise Crusted Lamb & Rogue Creamery Raw Milk Sharp Cheddar Tartlet
2006 Quady North Flagship Syrah

Main
Fiscalini San Joaquin Gold Stuffed Filet Mignon with Smoked Blueberries - Allspice Foam
2008 Quady North Cabernet Franc

Dessert
Rogue Creamery Caveman Blue Lemon Meringue Tart (Sounds totally wild! I can't imagine what this would taste like)
2009 Anne Amie Muller Thurgau

Rogue Creamery Oregonzola Plum Sponge Cake - Orange, Vanilla & Chocolate Covered Sunflower Seeds
2007 Quady Winery Elysium

It apparently takes place on August 19th.

A great way to make a cheese salad

2010-07-30T14:27:00.003+01:00

I've been in the Pacific NW (aka Oregon and Washington State) for the past 10 days, hence the absence of posts but I've come across a lot of good cheese dishes. Not least this salad at a restaurant called Farm to Fork in Dundee.

What's clever about it is that it's basically a reconstructed round lettuce - or butter lettuce as they call them over there - picked apart, washed and put back into a lettuce shape. There were also fine shavings of red onion, roasted pumpkin seeds, a light buttermilk and blue cheese dressing and - best of all - a snowfall of blue cheese flakes, apparently from a piece of cheese that can been frozen and grated on a Microplane. It looked and tasted great.

I came across a similar one at a really good bistro called Le Pigeon in Portland. Not sure who's copying who.

Tilly: a rare British goats' cheese

2010-07-16T18:44:00.008+01:00

The great thing about genuinely artisanal cheese - like 'natural' wine - is that it's finite. It may be a small experimental batch or only made at a particular time of year. When it's gone it's gone. So it was good to try this rare cheese from Mary Holbrook at the Bristol Food & Wine Fair from my friends at Trethowan's Dairy.

It's called Tilly after a field on her Somerset Farm and is an unwashed version of the unpasteurised goats cheese Cardo I was raving about last summer which is set using an extract of cardoon thistle rather than rennet.

I can't say I like it quite as much. Cardo has a particularly sumptuous silky texture but it's a delicious cheese by any standard - delicate yet intensely flavoured and not obviously 'goaty' at all.

Jess of Trethowan's Dairy says they simply can't get enough of it. "When we have a big do we have to save up our quota".

So we nibbled it extra slowly (with some dry Montlouis) and look forward - hopefully - to tasting it again next year.

On Sunday I'm off to Washington State and Oregon for 10 days so am hoping for a taste of the famous Rogue River Blue! It might be a couple of weeks till the next post though . . .

Gnocchi alla Romana

2010-07-11T10:34:00.003+01:00

Despite the fact that I've been taught a couple of times how to make gnocchi I've never managed to master it - or at least not to achieve the featherlight consistency that makes it such a delicious thing to eat.

However when I was casting around for recipes for students recently I remembered this easy-to-make Roman version which is really surprisingly delicious. The thing to remember is to get the gnocchi mixture completely cold before you start trying to stamp it out.

And yes, for those of you might feel inclined to remind me, following my blogpost the other day, that it contains both eggs and cheese, I accept that it does. But the crucial thing is that it doesn't taste like it ;-).

Serves 4-6

600ml whole milk (i.e. not semi-skimmed)
150g fine semolina (spotted in Waitrose the other day. Also in Italian delis and some Asian shops)
2 medium eggs or 2 large egg yolks
75g parmesan or Grana Padano cheese
A good slice of butter
Salt, pepper and nutmeg

Pour the milk into a heavy saucepan and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to the boil then lower the heat and shake over the semolina gradually, stirring vigorously as you so so. Replace the pan over the heat and stir until the semolina is thick enough to stand a spoon in. Cool for a few minutes then beat in the eggs and three quarters of the cheese. Spread the semolina into a rectangle about 1 cm deep over a wetted baking sheet and leave to get completely cold and firm .(A couple of hours at least. I didn't leave it quite long enough so it was still slightly soft when I started to cut it up.)

Heat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Thickly butter a baking dish. Stamp out circles from the semolina with a scone cutter or the rim of a wine glass and arrange them overlapping in the dish, tucking the offcuts underneath and down the sides. (Or simply cut it into squares and arrange them in the dish).

Melt the butter and pour over the gnocchi then sprinkle generously with the remaining parmesan. Bake the gnocchi for about 20-25 minutes until the top is nicely browned. Serve with a simple tomato sauce and/or a salad.

Real Danish Blue

2010-07-03T10:07:00.012+01:00

Having spent 3 days in Copenhagen this week I've got a totally different perspective on Danish cheese, which is sadly represented in this country by industrialised Danish Blue and Samsoe. I'll be writing more about their fabulous soft cheeses which are often smoked or blended with herbs but it was good to come across a real organic Danish Blue at a small organic cheese shop off the Kultorvet called Osten ved Kultorvet which is run by a guy called Mikael Hendrikson aka 'Mikael the Cheese' (below).

It was called CumuluBlu and was much less harsh and fresher in flavour than the Danish Blues we get here, more like a creamy, slightly less salty Roquefort

There's another good cheese shop called Ostehjørnet at 56 Kongensgade with a beautifully displayed selection of international cheeses where we tried an award-winning semi-hard Gouda-style cheese called VesterHavsost from the Thise Dairy in Jutland.

We don't get this level of Scandinavian cheeses in England, unfortunately but if you're going to Copenhagen seek them out.

Do eggs go with cheese?

2010-06-24T17:55:00.007+01:00

When you're working on a recipe book - as I am at the moment - you have to think not only 'would I actually make this' but 'would the people who are (hopefully) going to buy it?' And it's a tricky one when it comes to eggs and cheese.

Of course you couldn't make a cheese soufflé without both but even then not everyone likes the idea of hot cheesy foam, my husband included. And I don't really like cheese omelettes that much, still less that classic retro dish of eggs mornay - eggs in a cheese sauce (although a bit of spinach helps)

It does of course depend on the cheese. Parmesan is pretty good with eggs - much better than Cheddar which tends to separate and go fatty when inserted in an omelette (I shudder even to think about it). It also helps to have another ingredient in the dish like onions, potatoes or courgettes as in a frittata though even then I'm not that keen.

Or wasn't until I came across a near perfect cheesy egg dish the other night at a restaurant called Riverstation in Bristol: a cauliflower and smoked mozzarella frittata, about as unlikely a combination as you could imagine and which I had to order out of sheer curiosity. It was really delicious - though admittedly it doesn't look much from the rather blurry image above.

Smoking mozarella not only gives it a more interesting flavour but a firmer texture which really worked well in the frittata alongside the lightly cooked cauliflower. The accompanying roast cherry tomatoes which had been drizzled with balsamic vinegar provided an interesting sweet-sour contrast as did some bitter rocket leaves.

I checked out the recently published Flavour Thesaurus, my current bedtime reading, to see what author Niki Segnit had to say about eggs and cheese and she didn't even mention them as a combination which suggests its not just me who feels this way. What about you? Do you use the two together and if so how?

PS Writing this I realise I'm perfectly OK with quiche. Must be the pastry - and the cream!

Caciocavallo: an Italian cheese discovery

2010-06-12T10:49:00.009+01:00

One of the unexpected bonuses of attending the chefs' conference Identita earlier this week was the artisanal food stalls which had some really great cheeses and salumi.

There was some pretty impressive aged Grana Padano, the less feted cousin of Parmigiano Reggiano (aka Parmesan) but the one that really stood out for me was this gourd-shaped Caciocavallo from Puglia (I think) though I've discovered from Juliet Harbutt's World Cheese Book, which I'll be reviewing shortly, that this type of pasta filata (stretched curd) cheese is made all over southern Italy. Some like Caciocavallo Silano have their own PDO - actually that may be the only one - and like other cheeses there are younger and older versions.

This was 24 months old and wonderfully rich, nutty and crumbly, the sort of cheese you could nibble at the end of a meal with a good red wine.

The Grana Padano crew were also showing off different aged cheeses with accompanying wines, a session I unfortunately missed. They paired the 12 month old with a 2007 Valpolicella Ripasso, the 18 month old with a 2006 Chianti Classico Riserva and a Salice Salentino Riserva and the 27 month with a 2005 Amarone, which I can imagine would have worked well. (This type of hard, grainy cheese is one of the few that reliably goes with red wine, particularly aged Italian reds)

BTW if you're interested in Caciocavallo there's a very interesting article on how it differs from Provolone on about.com here.

Tymsboro: a love affair re-kindled

2010-05-27T10:54:00.010+01:00

What I love about artisan cheese is that it always tastes different. Sometimes so different that you feel as if you're tasting it for the first time again.

So it was yesterday with Tymsboro', an ash-coated unpasteurised goats' cheese I've been buying on and off over the years. It's made by Mary Holbrook of Sleight's Farm in Somerset and is a modern British classic

I hovered over it as it looked more mature than usual and my husband doesn't like very strong 'goaty' cheeses. But it was absolutely spectacular - with a fresh citrussy tang, yet palate-caressingly creamy in texture. I can't remember ever tasting a better one.

I bought it from the Trethowan's Dairy shop in St Nicholas Market in Bristol where the cheese is always in tip-top condition because they don't ever carry too many and pick it up themselves direct from the farm*.

At £7.50 it's not cheap but a whole one will easily serve four and you don't need to serve any others. And that's not a lot to pay for perfection.

* I would say nice things about Trethowan's Dairy because they're my partners in Cheese School but on the other hand I wouldn't have gone into partnership with them if they weren't so great!

Asparagus, Brie and Parma Ham rolls

2010-05-22T14:35:00.006+01:00

Another riff on asparagus and cheese which really do go very well together. I came across the idea in the London restaurant Polpo where they were serving it with Taleggio. That I think would be the ideal cheese but as I was making a cut price version I used Brie. Perfect for a nibble with drinks.

Makes 12 - enough for 4-6 depending on what else you’re eating

A bunch of asparagus
A small (135g) pack of good quality Brie or - better still -Taleggio
85g pack of parma ham

Take each of the asparagus spears and break off the stalk about two thirds of the way down from the tip. Put them in a frying pan with a little water. Bring to the boil and cook for about 3-4 minutes until just tender. Drain and set aside. Cut the Brie into long slices, remove the rind and cut into small strips. Carefully remove each slice of parma ham and tear or cut it lengthwise down the centre. Take each spear, add one of the pieces of cheese then wrap one of the strips of ham round them. Season with a little freshly ground black pepper. You could also serve this as a starter drizzled with a little olive oil

Cor blimey!! The UK's hottest cheese!!!

2010-05-16T14:55:00.008+01:00

I have to admit that it was in a spirit of deep cynicism that I said I would try Mexicana Extreme which is billed as the UK's hottest cheese. For a start I loathe most flavoured cheeses and could see little point in a cheese so hot you couldn't taste it. However for a go-anywhere-try-anything kind of a gal it had to be done.

The cheese is being marketed by Ilchester in Somerset and, believe it or not, is a cheddar, laced with peppers, chilli seasoning and assorted spices. It is, as billed, quite ridiculously - almost vindalooishly - hot, obviously designed to appeal to people who like hot sauces with 'death' 'killer' or 'pain' on the label. And why shouldn't they have a cheese that appeals to them if someone is prepared to make it? Fair point, gov, but all I can say it's not cheese as you or I know it.

It's slightly milder sibling, Mexicana, isn't bad though if you're into Tex Mex - which in my weaker moments I am. I wouldn't nibble it for fun but I made quite a tasty quesadilla with it and some shredded spring onions and can see it being a flavourful if somewhat gungey topping for nachos, burgers or even a baked potato.

If nothing will persuade you not to try it you can apparently buy the Mexicana Extra Hot from at Asda (in a 185g wedge) and shortly from the deli counter at Sainsbury's and Morrisons where it will sell for £10 a kilo.

So am I being fair or a food snob about Mexicana Extreme. What's your view of flavoured cheeses?

Asparagus fondue

2010-05-04T12:59:00.006+01:00

With the asparagus season just under way it hasn't quite come to the point of wondering what to do with it but give me another week or so of spears dipped in butter and I'll be looking to ring the changes.

Cheese is a well-established partner - the obvious combination being asparagus and goats' cheese - but the other day I came across an asparagus fondue, a clever idea at Mark Hix's new restaurant in Selfridges.

It wasn't a conventional fondue but apparently a cheese-based sauce with some steamed (I would guess) asparagus shavings and trimmings blitzed up in it, giving it the exotic green colour you see in the rather blurry photo). For me it wasn't quite cheesy enough and a little bit floury but there's the nub of an idea there that's well worth exploring. Or maybe just dunking lightly cooked asparagus spears in a conventional fondue would work just as well.

If you don't have a fondue set I reckon you could also make a light cheese sauce - I fancy using some cream in this - flavoured with Gruyère and Parmesan which gives you an intense cheese flavour without being too heavy and pour it over the spears, sprinkle them with a little more cheese and flash them under the grill.

In fact I may very well have to go off and buy some asparagus right now to do just that . . .

PS I suddenly remembered that Mark often posts his new dishes in his column in the Independent - and indeed here it is. Not the green version though. And I think I'd still use Gruyère and Parmesan rather than Cheddar much as I like British cheeses.

First Cheese School, now Cheese University!

2010-04-30T16:32:00.008+01:00

Having recently set up Cheese School with cheesemonger and cheesemakers Trethowan's Dairy I was pleased to see you can also now go to Cheese University!

According to a newsletter from Sopexa, the body which promotes French food and wine, a new university diploma in 'Cheese and Heritage" has been created by l'Université François Rabelais de Tours and the Institut Européen d'Histoire et des Cultures de l'Alimentation.

Studies on the 10 month course curriculum apparently include "the history and geography of milk production and the cheese industry, anthropology and the consumption of cheeses and the sociology of food, marketing and sales. This gives graduates a practical knowledge of cheese through a multi-disciplinary training of all aspects of cheese-making and selling cheese including knowledge of terroirs, the social value of cheese consumption and handling world varieties" (Glad to know cheese consumption has social value. I feel that justifies my indulging in it as regularly as I do.)

The modules, which will be launched in September 2010, are being offered to students who have been in further education for 2 years, people working in cheese production, retail and catering and foreign students (which would make it sensible to have some foreign language versions of the website although there is an English pdf you can open.)

I suspect this is mainly designed for people working in multinational dairy companies rather than small artisanal enterprises though, encouragingly, they do have a couple of historians, a sociologist and an anthropologist on the staff.

Nearer home you can also take cheesemaking courses at the School of Artisan Food which offers an introduction to artisan cheese and more advanced courses on making different styles of cheese. I hope to make it to one later this year.

And - taking the opportunity for a quick plug - the next one day session of Cheese School is on Sunday June 13th at Bordeaux Quay in Bristol featuring Neal's Yard cheesemaker Charlie Westhead of Neal's Yard Creamery who makes the fabulous goats cheeses Dorstone, Ragstone and Perroche.

Androuet comes to London

2010-04-25T12:38:00.008+01:00

I was wandering through Spitalfields market yesterday when I came across a smart-looking cheese shop - the first London outpost of the famous Parisien fromagerie Androuet. It's pretty small with a mixture of French and European cheeses, supplied by Androuet and English ones, sourced through Paxton and Whitfield with whom they appear to be in partnership.

There's a chic little wine and cheese bar at the back where they're already offering cheese plates and apparently plan to offer classic cheese dishes like raclette and fondue shortly.

I didn't have time to browse but managed to pick up a cheese I hadn't tasted: a delicious Swiss cheese called Bergblumenkase or Bergblume which I discover is rolled in alpine herbs. It's quite similar to a Gruyère in texture but much richer and fuller in flavour. I suspect it would go best with a crisp fruity white wine but it rubbed along fine with the modest Cabardes we were drinking last night.

I'll go back and try the hot dishes which I hope are better than those at L'Art du Fromage, the cheese-focussed restaurant I reviewed a few weeks back. It certainly looks a much more contemporary joint and has the virtue of being in a rather more accessible location.

Cheese School update

2010-04-08T08:38:00.006+01:00

It's only 3 days now till our first all day session of Cheese School and there suddenly seems a massive amount of work to do: buying ingredients, sourcing wines and beers and begging and borrowing a whole lot of artisanal products to use for our 'Amazing Tastes' session.

It's interesting how the day has evolved since we first had the idea. Originally we were going to have a cooking demo but we reckoned that what people really wanted to know was to learn more about cheese and how to use it so we've dropped that.

Instead we thought it would be fun to attempt a 3 course cheese lunch though that doesn't seem quite such a brilliant idea now when we add that to all of the other things we have to do! And when we think about how much cheese people are going to be eating anyway. (It's goats cheese, beetroot and walnut salad, macaroni cheese and upside down lemon and blueberry cheesecakes for those of you who are curious about how we're going to pull it off)

The concept of the Amazing Tastes session has also changed. Originally I was going to demonstrate some unconventional ways of putting cheeses and other ingredients together but we decided it would be much more interesting to have everyone doing their own thing so we're laying on a whole lot of cheeses, chutneys, fruits and nuts for people to get creative with.

The cheese pairing session will also be fun: we're going to get a local wine merchant Avery's and a brewer, the Bristol Beer Factory, to come along and each match 4 wines and 4 beers to 4 cheeses and see which come out tops.

And the morning sessions with the cheesemakers are going to give people a real chance to appreciate the difference in artisanal British cheeses. Todd Trethowan who makes Gorwydd Caerphilly is going to show how cheese changes as it ages and Sam Holden who makes Hafod is going to compare different cheddars.

I suspect by the end of the day we'll all be cheesed out but we can't wait!

Cheese trolley or cheese plate?

2010-03-31T20:46:00.006+01:00

I was dining - rather grandly - at Raymond Blanc's Manoir aux Quat' Saisons last night which like many Michelin-starred restaurants still serves their cheese on a trolley (above). I have mixed views about that. On the one hand it's great to have a vast choice of cheeses and have the cheese sommelier (for that is what they're usually called these days) talk you through them.

On the other you can almost guarantee if you go for the stinky cheeses - which I rashly did - that they will ruin any red wine you're drinking. And that the sheer cost of maintaining such a huge selection in tip top condition means that you will be charged extra (£13 in this case) for preferring cheese to pud.

I'd personally rather have two or three cheeses - or even one well-chosen one - served with an appropriate accompaniment such as a few salad leaves, some nuts and some fresh or dried fruit but what do you cheese lovers think? Have cheese trolleys had their day or are they still the ultimate way to serve cheese?

Taleggio, potato and thyme bruschetta

2010-03-25T16:16:00.004Z

A rather blurry photo but this is a great idea for a simple snack if you happen to have a few potatoes and some Taleggio to hand. It was served today at my one of my favourite Bristol restaurants, Flinty Red.

I guess you simply need some good quality toast made from country bread (I'd use sourdough), maybe a little sautéed onion, a scattering of thyme, some slices of freshly cooked potato and some Taleggio then just whack it under the grill. Easier than pizza and absolutely delicious.

A perfect cheese platter

2010-03-16T10:13:00.002Z

Another model way of presenting cheese from South Africa - this time a party platter served at the Creation winery in Hemel-en-Aarde

I love the way the meats - indigenous South African biltong and dried beef and salami are mixed in with the cheese to create colour and textural contrast and the way the cheeses are pre-cut - much more attractive than serving great slabs though you need to be careful not to do it too far ahead or they'll dry out.

There are a few olives and pickles in the middle - you could also add some grilled vegetables - if you like but remember any pickles, compotes or chutneys are likely to make wine pairing more tricky.

Incidentally there were a couple of really good matches here - a Hamilton Russell Chardonnay with the cheddar-style cheese just to the right of the dried beef and a couple of Syrah blends (Creation and Newton Johnson) with the Pecorino style cheese with peppers in the foreground.

South Africa's amazing cheese scene

2010-03-10T15:40:00.009Z

Last time I was in South Africa about 5 years ago the cheese was nothing to write home about. This time it's nothing short of stellar. Not so much in terms of the individual cheeses - I've not really had times to get to grips with those - but the way it's presented and incorporated on menus. Here's three examples from the Cape's top winery restaurants:

A crumbed goats cheese salad with figs at Terroir on the Kleine Zalze estate where the goats cheese was rolled in brioche crumbs and deep-fried (above)

A tart of mushrooms and turnip with fromage blanc and microgreens (above) at George Jardine's restaurant at the Jordan winery

And the stunning plate of goats cheeses and melon at Rust en Vrede created by chef David Higgs (below)

It's as much as I can do not to order cheese at every restaurant I go to.

Cheese still life

2010-03-05T07:40:00.005Z

When I spotted this picture on The British Larder the other day I thought it was so beautiful I had to post something about it and Madelene who writes the blog - and takes the photos - agreed to let me use it. She accompanies it with roast grape purée (great idea) and caramelised white onion breads the recipes for which are on her post.

I love the marble slab the cheese (Paxton & Whitfield's Cornish Soft) is served on (cheeseboards don't have to be wooden), the contrast of colour between the orange-edged white rind of the cheese and the dark, plummy grape purée wantonly smeared over the spoon, the fact that the cheese knife, an interesting shape in itself, shows the mark of cutting the cheese. It shows how a single cheese can be showcased and that you don't need a whole cheeseboard to create a stunning effect. Inspirational.

L'Art du Fromage: back to the '70s but not in a good way

2010-03-02T21:14:00.009Z

Following my cheese trip to New York I was inordinately excited that a cheese restaurant was opening in London - even if it was down in the far-flung reaches of London SW10 known as 'Word's End'. L'Art du Fromage describes itself as a 'cheese gourmet restaurant' and 'more than a meal - an EXPERIENCE'. Who could resist?

After a few fevered exchanges on Twitter fellow cheeselover Mathilde Delville decided to hold her birthday bash there and we all piled down for a retro evening of fondue and raclette.

Admittedly it's not the best time to put a restaurant through its paces but I can't help feeling that L'Art du Fromage's owners have missed a trick. With its chalet-style pine tables and chairs it looks totally like a throw-back to the '70s. The fondues were OK but a bit thin with a tendency to separate probably induced by the waiters pouring lighted kirsch all over them. The raclette just tasted like boiled potatoes topped with fondue.

It would be really good to see a sophisticated modern restaurant showcasing cheese but I regret to say L'Art du Fromage isn't it. Fun evening though . . .

Prima Donna: a Dutch cheese that thinks it's Italian

2010-02-28T09:13:00.007Z

I always like trying new cheeses and came across one yesterday in our local deli that's a real curiosity: a Dutch cheese that's made to taste like parmesan. It's called - and this has to be an idea of some marketing department - Prima Donna and is made by a company called Vandesterre in the style of a Gouda. (It can't be classified as Gouda because of the fat content which is only 45% compared to the minimum 48% required for Gouda.)

It's much softer and more pliable than a parmesan but has quite a kick though less bitterness than a mature cheddar. Unlike many cheeses it tastes pretty good straight out of the fridge (as I can testify as I'm nibbling it right now!)

I suspect it would be very good to cook with and might also pair well with full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot (by no means true of all hard cheeses)

The only downside is that it's quite difficult to cut as my cheesemonger found (above). You can see that it split when it was cut. But who cares when it tastes this good?

There is apparently a milder version so look out for the red label and the word 'maturo' if you want the real McCoy.

A model way to serve cheese

2010-02-24T21:14:00.010Z

We weren't planning to have cheese at what was already an over-indulgent lunch at Texture today but when we spotted their cheese course we had to give it a try. It consisted of just three cheeses - Valençay, Pecorino Sardo and Stichelton, cut and served on a square slate, each with a complementary relish.

In the case of the Valençay it was a honey and muscat jelly, the Pecorino was paired with a little peeled celery salad and the Stichelton with a delicately spiced pear and apple compote. There was also two kinds of toast, one made from thick slices of wholegrain bread and one (at the back of the picture) from some very fine slices of apricot bread.

The sommelier Erica came up with the perfect pairing, a spectacular glass of 1988 Cossart Gordon Sercial Madeira (see the website under Colheita) - all cream and caramelised nuts yet amazingly dry.

A model modern way to serve cheese.

Introducing Cheese School

2010-02-15T16:48:00.007Z

Since I got back from my cheese trip to New York last December I've been buzzing with ideas about cheese events so it's good to be able to announce that cheesemonger Jess Trethowan and I have launched Cheese School which we're immodestly billing as the "ultimate experience for cheeselovers".

Basically Jess - who with her husband Todd runs Trethowan's Dairy in Bristol - and I thought of all the things we'd really like to do with cheese: meeting and talking to cheesemakers, trying new cheeses, playing around with different ingredients and wine and other drink pairings, cooking with it, scoffing it . . . and came up with the idea of a single day where you could do all of that.

The first day, which will take place on Sunday April 11th at Bordeaux Quay Cookery School in Bristol will have as guest cheesemakers Jess's husband Todd who also makes Gorwydd Caerphilly and Sam and Rachel Holden who make Hafod Cheddar, two cheeses I've enthused about on this blog before. Inspired by my recent Ultimate Macaroni Cheese Challenge we're also going to be cooking up a great mac'n'cheese lunch and also getting tips on how to buy and keep cheese at its best. You can find the full programme on our new website here.

We're also up for organising one-off events and doing a bit of staff training which Jess, who likes a good pun, has dubbed Cheese Train. (I'm sure it'll only be a matter of time before we have a Cheese Bus. I kid you not - Jess has already got a Cheese Bike!)

You can keep up with what we're up to on the site and on Twitter where we tweet as @CheeseSchool. And we hope you'll come and join us for a day of cheesy indulgence!

Cheese and onion soup

2010-02-10T14:22:00.006Z

Since I tasted a sublime onion and cider soup the other day I've been dying to make one and the few desultory snowflakes this morning were all I needed to get going. This is a much more rustic version but worked rather well. I used the lovely Roscoff onions I bought the other week and a good wedge of Gorwydd Caerphilly I had left over from my purchases at the Cheesefest which interestingly made it taste creamy rather than too obviously cheesy and balanced the sweetness of the onions. Perfect February food!

Serves 3-4
1 tbsp olive oil
25g butter
450g good quality onions, peeled and sliced
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp flour
500ml light vegetable stock (I used 2 tsp Marigold bouillon powder)]
150ml dry cider
50g Gorwydd Caerphilly, rind removed and grated
Salt and white pepper

Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan or casserole, add the butter then tip in the onions, season lightly and stir well. Cook over a low heat for about 20 minutes until soft and golden, stirring occasionally adding the thyme half way through. Stir in the flour, add the stock and cider and bring up to simmering point. Turn the heat down and cook for another 20 minutes or so. Take the pan off the heat, leave for a minute until it's stopped bubbling then stir in the Gorwydd Carphilly. Adjust the seasoning and serve. You could scatter over a bit of chopped parsley if you wanted to pretty it up with something green.

A cheese room: the new 'must-have' restaurant accessory?

2010-02-05T18:14:00.013Z

As I was lunching at the River Café this week (see here for my review) I took the opportunity to take a look at their glossy new cheese room that they installed after their refit a couple of years ago following the fire that destroyed their kitchen.

In fact it wasn't as large or as lavish as I'd imagined - just a narrow room at the far end of the private dining room (above) but it enables them to keep their cheeses at the ideal temperature and humidity (between 10-12°C and 80-85% respectively)

Needless to say the cheeses themselves were perfect specimens like this Provolone del Monaco (above) and Puzzone di Moena (below) from Trentino Alto Adige, both unpasteurised cows milk cheeses.

I've only seen one other cheese room in London at the South African steak restaurant High Timber but they look so cool I'm sure other restaurants are going to want to follow suit.

Have you come across a restaurant with a good cheese room?

Ultimate Macaroni Cheese Challenge: the winners!

2010-02-02T08:41:00.005Z

Well, I knew it was going to be a hard call to decide on our winning entries and it was! I can’t tell you how glad I was to have roped in some guest judges to share the burden of decision-making but we got there in the end!

In an ideal world we’d have made and tasted all the entries but at the end of the day this is just a piece of fun, not a serious competition. So to any of you who feel aggrieved that we’ve overlooked your masterpiece, my sincere apologies.

First off, the best drink match, a last-minute category suggested by Denise of The Wine Sleuth who nobly agreed to judge the entries. We had four which you can see here. We both liked the entries from Andrew Barrow of Spittoon who suggested an English white, the Oakengrove Vineyard Dry White 2006 and Lucy Bridgers of Wine, Food and Other Pleasures who went for a mature white burgundy, Rully 1er Cru 2000 Les Cloux from Vincent Girardin but Denise reckoned that the Rully would be more likely to deliver over a range of mac’n’cheeses and that Lucy made her case persuasively.

The photography category was small but we had one outstanding winner, according to our judge Marie-Louise Avery: Rob of Eat Pictures who submitted a highly original and colourful take on the subject.
“Rob's picture is well lit, nicely composed, uses focus interestingly and is an original approach” said Marie-Louise.

In the artisanal cheese category we felt three entries stood out: Signe Johansen’s version which used Montgomery, Wensleydale, Gorwydd Caerphilly and Stichelton, Sharmila’s, which used Montgomery, Ogleshield and Isle of Mull Cheddar and Scott’s extensively researched Mac and Montgomery Cheddar. It was a tough call but judge Jess Trethowan of Trethowan’s Dairy thought Signe performed the greatest service to the British artisanal cheese cause. “Great cheeses, great crème fraîche - very nice and simple but delicious."

And finally - the big one - the best original recipe which as I explained meant the best recipe invented by you rather than the most off the wall. There were so many outstanding entries in this category judges Xanthe Clay, Marlena Spieler and I really had a struggle. We loved Mathilde’s Mac’n’Cheese à la française, Scott’s Mac ‘n’ (Man)Chego, James’s stylish lobster mac and Susan of Food Blogga’s Italian macaroni and cheese but in the end it was a toss-up between Elly of Pear Café’s delicious-sounding Macaroni cheese with Welsh Rarebit topping and Helen of Food Stories' wickedly indulgent Mac and Cheese for an Army made with cooked ham hocks. And being piggy that was our final choice though Xanthe, who was unable to resist cooking it up, offered the suggestion that it could do with a touch more flour to stablise the lavish amounts of cheese! (Interestingly it looks like it was your choice too. It was the most frequently mentioned of the recipes and attracted no less than 34 comments on Helen’s blog.)

So four worthy winners! Congratulations, all. Your prizes will all be winging their way in the next week or so and I hope those of you who didn’t win will still agree that this was a great deal of fun.

Cheesefest: every town should have one

2010-01-31T19:13:00.014Z

If you despair at the stranglehold supermarkets and restaurant chains have over food in this country you should have been at the Eat Cheese cheesefest in Bristol today, an event organised by an independent restaurant involving local producers and shops.

It was held on and outside The Glass Boat, a well-established Bristol restaurant on - as the name suggests - a boat on the Welsh Back, one of a series of events the owner Arne Ringner is holding to draw attention to the fact the restaurant has been revamped and re-energised.

The clever thing about it was that it wasn't just a farmers' market about which everyone has become quite blasé these days but had a specific theme that made you feel you couldn't miss out. There were visiting and local cheesemakers: Hafod, Homewood and Trethowan's Dairy who sell other cheeses as well as their own, Gorwydd Caerphilly, and who dispensed their trademark raclette and toasties. A local deli, Papadeli was selling Spanish cheese and charcuterie, Bath Ales, a local brewer looked after the beer and Great Western Wine conducted wine tastings while Arne himself was showing how to make ricotta (below).

In the restaurant itself you could have a cheese-themed lunch at the very reasonable price of £12 for two courses or £15 for 3. Starters included French onion soup, macaroni cheese with Stilton and wild mushrooms, thyme and garlic baked Camembert with grissini; mains, leg of lamb with spinach and mascarpone and lobster thermidor with Alderwood cheddar and puds New York cheesecake with lime and coconut and mango, passionfruit and mascarpone parfait. The place was packed with couples and families who were making a day out of it.

According to Arne it was quite a battle to get the council to approve the event but it's something every town or village could do if they put their mind to it. Good for all the businesses involved and a fantastic way to promote artisan cheese.

Mac'n'cheese Challenge: best original recipe

2010-01-27T12:09:00.002Z

How on earth do you judge the best recipe for macaroni cheese? Should it be a subtle twist on a classic version or something radically different? Should it be comforting and creamy or have a spicy edge? I wouldn’t have believed there were so many different permutations.

For sheer originality it was hard to beat Amuse Bouche's Chocolate with White Chocolate and Lime Cream Cheese not least because he had made his own pasta but the brief did specify that originality meant your version rather than something totally off the wall. Great invention but not a mac!

James of The Cotswold Food Year also made his own macaroni for his luxurious lobster mac which was served in a half lobster shell - the perfect Valentine's Day dinner, he suggested.

Another indulgent entry was Mathilde's Mac'n'Cheese à la Française which included two kinds of mushrooms, white wine and Comté, Mimolette and Gruyère cheese

Garlic Confit did a round-up of the best macs in London in his entry ending up with a version that included sundried tomatoes, cavolo nero, cheddar and alpine cheese and - appropriately enough - lots of garlic.

Meemalee (above) introduced extra crunch and texture with her secret ingredient - a couple of packs of plain potato crisps

While Cheryl of Back Seat Gourmet made hers extra healthy and kid-friendly by sneaking in some puréed squash or pumpkin

By contrast Matt for Food For Friends Yeah! submitted his straight down the line mac'n'cheese with cheddar and honey-roast ham and Wheeling Gourmet went for an all-American version with bacon (above)

Rosie of Salad Club also used ham, pointing out that mac and cheese was a great way of using up the leftovers from a Christmas ham.

Helen of Food Stories went for broke with her 'macaroni cheese for an army', cooking a ham hock specially for her mac then cooking the pasta in the stock (a genius touch). Then she created a super-crispy topping with cheese and panko crumbs.

For others it was beer that was the inspiration. Elly of Pear Café in Bristol submitted her delicious-sounding Macaroni Cheese with Welsh Rarebit topping. using Doombar beer while Lizzie of Hollow Legs used Tanglefoot and caramelised onions in her version (above)

Gin and Crumpets went for a classic British version, drawing on old English cookery books and flavours like bay, nutmeg and mustard

Swedish Mike of Freestyle Cookery gave a Swedish version Makaronilada which is based on an easy-to-make egg and milk custard rather than the classic bechamel.

Several of you felt that macaroni cheese needs a touch of spice including Julie Broczkowski of The Magic Fridge in Ottawa who submitted her Tex Mex version.

For Vickie aka Vix it was a touch of smoked paprika that lifted her macaroni cheese above the ordinary (she also used Red Leicester along with her cheddar

And two entrants went for a Spanish vibe, using Manchego and chorizo: Scott of Scott Can Cook also added a dash of sherry to his Mac N' (Man)Chego (above) while Alex and Carlo of Recession Recipes added sweet and hot paprika and spicy piquillo peppers to theirs (below).

Linda of With Knife and Fork went for a regional British version with her Lancashire Macaroni cheese with Lancashire cheese (obviously) and black pudding

Feast on Scraps by contrast went for a blue cheese (Gorgonzola and Stilton) and broccoli version with fresh Strozzapreti pasta.

Finally a couple of entries from dedicated mac'n'cheese aficionados.

Hilary of We Heart Mac and Cheese entered her Cheese Drawer Mac and Cheese using no less than five different cheeses (Cheddar, Gruyère, Jack, Smoked Gouda and Parmesan), topping it with a scattering of smashed crackers.

And Susan of Food Blogga sent us the tasty Italian Macaroni and Cheese with Pancetta and Fontiago she had submitted to a new Wisconsin Macaroni and Cheese Blog which may provide further inspiration if your appetite for mac'n'cheese is not yet sated!

So, some amazing recipes! Thank you all for taking the trouble to take part and for all the time and effort you've put into your entries. I do hope I've included them all. Do mail me if yours has slipped the net or if you find the link to your site isn't working

Cookery writers Xanthe Clay and Marlena Spieler, author of Macaroni and Cheese, will be joining me in the unenviable task of selecting the winning recipe. As I mentioned we didn't manage to persuade Emma Bridgewater to donate her lovely macaroni cheese dish but it seems such an appropriate prize I'm going to get one for you anyway. Good luck!

Mac’n’cheese challenge: best use of artisanal cheese

2010-01-26T09:07:00.011Z

While it’s always fun to invent a new recipe I thought it would be good to have a category which encouraged you all to use British artisanal cheeses. There was of course some overlap - some of you mentioned specific cheeses in your entries for best original recipe - and some made good use of cheeses outside the UK but you have to draw the line somewhere.

Interestingly Neal’s Yard proved to be the favourite place to source your cheeses and Montgomery's Cheddar the most frequently featured cheese:

Donna D combined it with Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire in her blog My Fitness Year. (Not that mac'n'cheese immediately strikes you as part of a healthy eating regime but as Donna says, moderation in all things!)

Ms MarmiteLover offers the alternative of Green's of Glastonbury cheddar or Montgomery for her classic version which she says is "perfect for sitting in front of the telly watching something a bit crap like 'I'm a celebrity' or 'Big Brother'. It's great duvet food."

Sig of Scandilicious combined Montgomery with Wensleydale, Gorwydd Caerphilly and Stichelton in her ingenious version (above) which employed crème fraîche rather than having to make a cheese sauce. (Nice pix of the individual cheeses too.)

Sharmila of Sharmila on Food opted for Montgomery’s Cheddar, Ogleshield and Isle of Mull Cheddar for what she said "resulted in the most wondrous cheese sauce", capped by a few drops of white truffle oil.

And Scott of Scott Can Cook seems to have single-handedly kept Neal's Yard in business with his researches into different cheeses - again ending up with a Mac and Montgomery cheddar version.

In fact James of The Cotswold Food Year was the only one not to use Montgomery coming up instead with his wickedly indulgent Truffled Macaroni Bries. (Before you oject, as I did, he points out that he did in fact use St. Eadburgh, a Camembert-style cheese from Gorsehill Abbey Farm. He just liked the play on words of Macaroni Bries ;-)

This category will be judged by Jess Trethowan of Trethowans Dairy who are donating a gift box of artisanal cheeses to the winner.

Mac’n’cheese challenge: most mouthwatering pix

2010-01-26T08:20:00.008Z

I created this category of the mac’n’cheese challenge for those of you who didn’t particularly want to create their own original recipe but might like to post a picture or series of pictures of a favourite version.

As I’ve mentioned some of the pix that were submitted with the recipes were pretty gorgeous but it seemed fairer to restrict this category to a those who made it a central feature of their entry.

There were three of you:

Gail of One Million Gold Stars made her adaptation of Simon Hopkinson’s tomato-topped recipe in a cute heart-shaped dish

Kavita of Kavey Eats shot a series of photos of a Nigel Slater recipe against a warm red background

And Rob of Eat Pictures, who has the advantage of being a part-time food photographer, created a very flashy slideshow of a version that he had created especially for the challenge to overcome the problems he perceives in shooting mac'n'cheese. (You can read his reasoning here)

Food photographer Marie-Louise Avery (aka marieloua on Twitter) will be judging the entries.

Mac’n’Cheese Challenge: Best drink match entries

2010-01-26T07:42:00.006Z

So what do you drink with macaroni cheese? We added the drink pairing category as an afterthought at the suggestion of The Wine Sleuth who nobly agreed to judge the entries. In the event there were only four but all interesting ones. Most people would probably reach for a bottle of red but only David Greenman of the Arch House Deli in Bristol suggested that: a Gigondas such as Domaine la Haute Marone would do the trick. "Not too overpowering, fruity, with a tang of spices and herbs and not too expensive it would perfectly complement a macaroni cheese made with a strong cheese such as Lincolnshire Poacher or a Keens Cheddar." (David doesn't have a blog so I've listed his entry here - scroll down to the end of the post)

Two of you suggested white wines: Andrew Barrow of Spittoon an English white to go with his version of macaroni cheese which is finished with parsley and lemon zest - Oakengrove Vineyard Dry White 2006 which he said ‘worked perfectly’ as a ‘delicious palate cleanser leaving you wanting more of both the wine and the food. (The Spanish red he tried was less successful, he said)

Lucy Bridgers opted for a white burgundy with her more classic ‘mac’ on her blog Wine, Food and Other Pleasures- a Rully 1er Cru 2000 Les Cloux from Vincent Girardin which she said was “absolutely delicious with the rich macaroni cheese: luxurious, yet poised and elegant.”

And Garlic Confit also went for a contrasting style of wine - a Provençal rosé on his/her blog - a Chateau Du Galoupet, Cru Classé Rosé, 2008, Côtes de Provence which he/she (I'm not sure which) reckons is the perfect pairing for a classic mac.

My only disappointment was that there weren’t any beer or cider entries. I think the latter, in particular makes a great match for macaroni cheese.

Denise of Wine Sleuth will be judging the entries this week and the winner will receive a copy of my Cheese Course book!

What do you like to drink with your mac'n'cheese. Do you prefer white to red and if so what type? Or would you reach for a beer or a cider?

Mac'n'cheese mania

2010-01-25T16:56:00.003Z

Well, the challenge finally closed with a rush of late entries and if you needed any proof that we're a nation fixated on macaroni cheese this contest provided it in spades. 35 of you found time to enter - 23 in the best original recipe category, 3 for the best photograph(s), 5 for the best use of artisanal cheese and 4 suggested drink pairings.

All pose their problems for the judges. The range of ideas in the original recipe category from a Tex Mex mac to a chocolate one (no kidding!) will make Xanthe Clay's and Marlena Spieler's task a tough one. On the other hand it would have been good to have had more entries in the photo and wine pairing categories but as we had some great entries I've decided to award a prize nonetheless.

Some of you may feel that the pictures in some of the recipe submissions are worth of inclusion. I'm inclined to agree but as I didn't invite you all to enter more than one category I don't think we can take them into account. Sorry - those of you who took great photos will just have to bask in the admiration of your peers.

What's going to happen now is that I'm going to put up a series of posts on the entries in each category over the next couple of days then will confer with the judge(s) for that section to come up with a winner. The bad news is that I didn't manage to persuade Emma Bridgewater of the worthiness of our cause (a decision it inexplicably took them two weeks to reach) so they won't be donating us their very splended mac and cheese dish but as I don't want to disappoint you I'm going to get one for the winner anyway.

To kick off the coverage here are three recipe entries which were submitted directly and did not appear on blogs and one drink suggestion. The first two are for the original recipe category, Ms MarmiteLover's for the Artisan Cheese one.

Macaroni cheese with Welsh Rarebit topping
This comes from Elly Curshen of the Pear Café in Bristol

Ingredients

For topping:
25g butter
25g flour
150ml milk
150g mature cheddar cheese, grated
150ml Sharp's Doombar Cornish beer
1 tsp English mustard powder
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
2 egg yolks

For cheese sauce:
25g butter
25g flour
200ml warm milk
2 tsp senap (slightly sweet Swedish mustard - I used a semi grainy one)
150g grated mature cheddar cheese

250g (dry weight) macaroni

Method

Make rarebit topping first;

1. Make a roux with the butter and flour, and leave to cool.
2. Bring the milk to the boil, then whisk it into the roux. Bring to the boil once again, whisking to make sure there are no lumps.
3. Add the cheese, beat in and remove from the heat.
4. Reduce the beer, English mustard and Worcestershire sauce until you are left with approx 2 tablespoons of thick liquid then add this mixture to the cheese sauce. Season well with salt and pepper and beat in both the egg yolks.
5. Leave to one side

Next, make the cheese sauce;
1. Make a roux with the butter and flour, and leave to cool.
2. Bring the milk to the boil, then whisk it into the roux. Bring to the boil once again, whisking to make sure there are no lumps.
3. Add the cheese and mustard, beat in and remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta (3 minutes less than stated on packet, so it is just a little underdone)

When pasta is cooked, drain and add to pan of cheese sauce, stirring well to coat.
Pour into a baking dish (needs to have capacity of approx 2 litres)
Spread the rarebit topping on top of the pasta and bake for 15 minutes at 180, followed by 4-5 minutes under a hot grill, to really crisp up the top!

Serve with peas and the rest of the bottle of Doombar!

copyright Elly Curshen 2010

Mex and Cheese
From Julie Broczkowski of The Magic Fridge, a catering company in Ottawa. (Yes, the fame of the Mac'n'cheese challenge spread that far!)

I adore Mexican food, and this is my Mex take on Mac&Cheese.... Mex and Cheese? I am a cook, not a recipe writer, so my measurements leave something to be desired.

12 oz. (1 box) of whole wheat macaroni (cooked and drained)
A big blob of butter (1/4 cup?)
An onion, chopped finely
1 tablespoon of finely chopped or pressed garlic, 2-3 large cloves
Enough flour to soak up the butter, until the mixture still flows, but not quickly
3-4 cups of milk, depending on how thick you like your sauce
3-4 cups grated cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, or a mixture
½ cup cream cheese
2-3 tablespoons Epicure Selections Nacho Cheese Dip Mix (only available in Canada) or nacho/fajita/taco seasoning
1 can (19oz) lentils, drained and rinsed
1 can (3.5 oz., I think) chopped green chiles (I use Old El Paso brand)

Melt butter in a pan, sauté onion for 3-5 minutes until very soft and slightly browned. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add flour and stir briskly to combine well; cook for 2-3 minutes. Pour in 2 cups of milk and whisk briskly. Cook until it thickens, then add more milk until it is the consistency you like (the cheese will make it even thicker, so take that into account). Stir in 2 cups of grated cheese and add the cream cheese. Whisk and/or stir until cheeses are melted and combined. Add seasoning, lentils and green chiles. Add cooked macaroni, stir well, and pour into a large greased casserole. I like to use a wide shallow one for a better crunchy topping to macaroni ratio. Top with the rest of the grated cheese and bake 20-30 minutes at 400° until cheese is bubbly. If it isn’t browning on its own, put it under the broiler for a minute. Wait 5 minutes to let it cool a tiny bit before serving.

Ms Marmite Lover's mac and cheese
This is the mac and cheese I made with Greens of Glastonbury cheddar for my 9/11/I love New York night. The cheese was very strong but one person said it was the best she'd ever had . . .

Boil 500g of large macaroni in salted water. Slightly undercook, they will continue to cook when baked. Drain and spread the macaroni on a baking pan or large oven proof dish. In another pan: put in half a pack of unsalted butter and 2 tablespoons of flour, sauce flour if you have it. Stir it around, making sure it doesn't burn. Then gradually add 250ml of full cream milk till the sauce becomes a thick liquid. Then add 600ml of double cream, 300g of strong cheddar such as Montgomery or Greens of Glastonbury. Add a large tablespoon of french grain mustard or any mustard you have. You can also add a few shavings of nutmeg if you wish.When the cheese is melted you can take this off the heat. Pour the sauce on the macaroni.Bake for 10 minutes on a medium heat. Add another 100 or 200 grams of cheddar on top. Bake or grill for another ten minutes.

Other options: I like to add green pickled peppercorns which adds heat and bite. Pretty much everything can be changed in this recipe...it's just an indication. You don't have to use cheddar. Use whatever you have in the fridge. You can make it slimming by using half fat milk and replacing the cream. But really this is a lovely comforting winter's dish, perfect for in front of the telly watching something a bit crap like 'I'm a celebrity' or 'Big Brother'. It's great duvet food.

And if you wanna get fancy schmancy, serve with salad - rocket or lambs lettuce with walnut oil and lemon juice and a lovely white wine such as gewurztraminer.

And a wine pairing suggestion from David Greenman of the Arch House Deli in Bristol

On your best drink match for Macaroni Cheese, I’d suggest a 2005 Gigondas such as Domaine la Haute Marone. Not too overpowering, fruity, with a tang of spices and herbs and not too expensive. Better value than a Chateauneuf. Would perfectly complement a macaroni cheese made with a strong cheese such as Lincolnshire Poacher or a Keens Cheddar.

Ribblesdale goat

2010-01-24T10:13:00.007Z

Before I get submerged in a week's macaroni cheese mania (the final deadline is tonight if you're thinking of submitting an entry) I just wanted to report on the cheese I've been eating this weekend: Ribblesdale goat which my daughter brought down from York for me.

As you can see from the picture it's not much to look at, even when the clingfilm is removed. It's one of those cheeses which is coated in wax which I imagine is what gives it its semi-soft, almost spreadable texture - almost like a posh Dairylea. The taste however is fantastic - rich, mellow (it lacks the acidity of most goats' cheeses) and moreish. It's absolutely impossible to stop nibbling it as I've found to my cost.

They don't appear to have a website of their own but according to one distributor Cheeses Direct it's vegetarian and, interestingly, can also be frozen. Not that it would last that long in this household.

What do you think about waxed cheeses? A good or not-so-good idea?

A white blue cheese

2010-01-20T08:49:00.005Z

This cheese sounds like something out of Alice in Wonderland: a white blue. I found it in the Co-op under their slightly annoying 'truly irresistible' label which includes products that are perfectly OK but not that exceptional.

It comes from Butlers Cheese in Lancashire whose normal blue is the orange coloured Blacksticks Blue, a pleasant mellow cheese similar to a Shropshire Blue. The Blacksticks White is similarly buttery but has rather more bite. At £2.19 a 150g pack it's more expensive than basic supermarket Stilton and to be honest no better.

It would be good - and this is really damning it with faint praise - for cooking, say, a blue cheese sauce or dressing or in a salad or a quiche. In fact I might very well do that.

It is vegetarian though and - good for the Co-op - uses GM free rennet though I'm not sure how widespread the use of GM rennet is.

Ultimate mac’n’cheese: the state of play

2010-01-17T08:37:00.013Z

As those of you who’ve followed the Challenge on Twitter will know I’ve extended the deadline for a week - to give a few hard core mac’n’cheese enthusiasts who I know have been struggling to meet the deadline a bit more time to get their entries in (and to see if I can line up the prizes without dipping too heavily into my own pocket!)

The prize I’m after is this brilliant mac’n’cheese dish from Emma Bridgwater which will go (if I can persuade them to donate it) to the creator of the most original recipe.

Of equal if not even greater desirability is the cheese selection being offered by the lovely people at Trethowan’s Dairy which will include their own Gorwydd Caerphilliy, Stichelton, Keen’s cheddar and Ragstone, which will go to the winner of the best use of artisanal cheese category. But as things stand (see below) there aren’t enough entries to justify awarding a separate prize.

The same applies to the picture category and winematching category but if there’s a sudden late rush of entrants - and I hope there is - each of those prizewinners will get a copy of my Cheese Course book.

So far we’ve had 17 entries, 12 of which are in the original recipe category, 3 for photographs, 2 for artisanal cheese and 1 wine pairing Three have sent them in by email, the rest - and you may have spotted some - have been posted on blogs

So if you think your recipe for macaroni cheese is the best, have a brilliant idea for what kind of artisanal cheese to use in it or type of drink to pair with it, you’ve got another week to get your ideas winging my way (the deadline is now 11.59 pm on Sunday January 24th). You could be the supreme mac’n’cheese champion!

Keen's crumpet #fail

2010-01-15T15:20:00.008Z

When I was at Dean Street Townhouse earlier this week I spotted that they had Keen's crumpets with picalilli on their High Tea menu. As it was dinner time and I was reviewing the restaurant I didn't take advantage but it certainly sounded good. But what would it taste like?

I had a stab at home which I have to say wasn't a raging success. I toasted the crumpets lightly on both sides then buttered the upper side and toasted it again so the crumpet wouldn't go soggy. I piled it up with grated Keen's cheddar and melted it on the top rack of the Aga (not the best way to toast anything quickly but the only available option). Then I spooned a dollop of picalilli on the top as you can see above.

It was - how shall I put this? - underwhelming. Even having toasted the crumpet beforehand it was too soft and the picalilli - a rather posh brand called Mrs Bridges - not nearly mustardy enough and too sweet.

Thwarted, I tried them with Marmite (thinly spread, topped with cheese) which was better and with Colman's English mustard, a considerable improvement but there was still a 'What's the point?' element to the whole exercise. Good toast (we buy sourdough) would have been a much better base for all three.

Maybe the DST has some secret recipe for the cheese topping. Or maybe they make it as a rarebit but if I were you I wouldn't bother. Try the very tasty twice-baked haddock soufflés, which I imagine include at least a smidge of Parmesan instead.

Barely Buzzed - a very American cheese

2010-01-10T10:37:00.008Z

As regular readers will know I've recently been checking out the cheese scene in New York so I found it fascinating to read this feature on US cheese culture in Harvard Magazine to which my good friend, fellow blogger and food anthropologist Scandilicious alerted me.

It mentions the work of Heather Paxon, an academic at the Radcliffe institute who is writing a book on American cheese culture. One of the most interesting observations she makes is that Americans understand the concept of terroir in a very different way from Europeans. "Where European cheeses are standardized by region, encouraging uniformity, American artisanal cheesemakers’ stock in trade is individuality" observes the article's author Elizabeth Gudrais.

You couldn't find a better example of that than Barely Buzzed, a cheese that I think it's safe to say you'd never find in the old world. It's made by a company called Beehive Cheese in Utah run by a couple of guys who used to be in IT and real estate.

The unique aspect about the cheese, which I tasted in New York, is that it's rubbed with a mixture of ground Turkish coffee and lavender blended by the Colorado Legacy Coffee Company (which is run by the cheesemaker's brother). It has the curious but appealing effect of making the rind taste like chargrilled steak and the interior of the cheese richly nutty and caramelly - a bit like eating a rather tasty cold cheeseburger. I don't normally like flavoured cheeses but I thought it was great - as did one of the city's cheese gurus Tia Keenan who put together the cheese programme at Casellula.

You shouldn't of course assume from this that all American cheese is wacky, simply that that American cheesemakers perceive no boundaries in terms of the style of cheese they can make. Which makes for exciting eating.

What's the most off-the-wall cheese you've ever eaten?

Cheddar and Cider Fondue

2010-01-06T18:00:00.010Z

With all this snow we might as well be in Switzerland so why not give in to the sub-artic temperatures and make a warming fondue? Interestingly I found when I was researching my cheese book (Fiona Beckett's Cheese Course) that cider was just as good a base for a fondue as wine and British cheeses like Cheddar worked just as well as the conventional Gruyère. So here's my West Country version from the book.*

The key thing to remember about a fondue is to have your cheeses at room temperature before you start, to take the pan off the heat before adding the first batch of cheese and to stir in a zig zag motion rather than round and round (which makes the fondue more likely to separate). Once you’ve got the knack, it’s simplicity itself.

Cheddar and Cider Fondue
Serves 2-3

About 425g finely sliced or coarsely grated cheese for example 150g mature Cheddar, 150g Double Gloucester and 125g Somerset Brie, all with the rinds removed
2 tsp potato flour or cornflour
175ml dry but fruity cider (I used Sheppy’s Dabinett)
1 tbsp Somerset Cider Brandy or Calvados
Freshly ground white or black pepper
Crusty brown rolls, cut into cubes and apple wedges to serve

You will also need a cast iron fondue pan or saucepan and a burner

Toss the sliced or grated cheese with the cornflour. Leave until it comes to room temperature. Start off the fondue on your cooker. Pour in the cider and heat until almost boiling. Remove from the heat and tip in about a third of the cheese. Keep breaking up the cheese with a wooden spoon using a zig-zag motion as if you were using a wire whisk. (Stirring it round and round as you do with a sauce makes it more likely that the cheese will separate from the liquid).

Once the cheese has begun to melt return it over a very low heat, stirring continuously. Gradually add the remaining cheese until you have a smooth, thick mass (this takes about 10 minutes, less with practice) If it seems too thick add some more hot cider. Add the cider brandy or Calvados and season with pepper (preferably white, as the grains won’t show). Place over your fondue burner and serve with small bite-size chunks of wheatmeal or granary bread rolls. Use long fondue forks to dip the bread in, stirring the fondue to prevent it solidifying. Have wedges of eating apples on hand to refresh you in between mouthfuls.

What to drink: A dry or medium dry cider will go perfectly with this.

You can buy a signed copy of Fiona Beckett's Cheese Course direct from Ryland Peters & Small at the special price of £16.99

Photograph by Richard Jung.

The Ultimate Macaroni Cheese Challenge kicks off now!

2009-12-28T21:50:00.013Z

OK, now you can't face another mouthful of roast turkey in any guise it's time to get cracking on creating the Ultimate Macaroni Cheese as announced in my post of December 17th.

To recap you can enter any of the following 4 categories (I've just added an extra one) though not the same entry in each category

* Best original recipe - meaning original as in invented by you rather than wacky/off the wall. We’re not particularly looking for recipes that include fish sauce though I wouldn’t rule them out.

* Most mouthwatering mac’n’cheese pic
That gives you scope to make someone else’s macaroni cheese (Simon Hopkinson’s seems to be a strong contender so far) and create a drop-dead gorgeous photo - or series of photos - of it

* Best use of artisanal cheese
Let’s celebrate the fact we have some of the best cheeses in the world in the UK by challenging you to use them in your macaroni cheese. A good category to enter if you like your mac'n'cheese plain and unadorned

* Best drink match
This was suggested by Denise Medrano aka The Wine Sleuth for mac'n'cheese loving winos - or beer or cider lovers. Don't feel you have to limit yourself to wine. What's the perfect way to wash down your macaroni cheese?

The judges will be Denise for this last category, cookery writer Xanthe Clay of the Daily Telegraph who will judge the recipe category, food photographer Marie-Louise Avery who will decide who has submitted the best pic or series of pix and Jess Trethowan of Trethowan's Dairy (makers of Gorwydd Caerphilly) who will judge the best use of artisanal cheese. (I've also recruited food writer Marlena Spieler who reminds me she has written a whole book on Macaroni cheese.) There will be a prize for each winner which I'll announce shortly once I've done a bit more arm-twisting.

Post your recipe/photo/drink match on your blog with a link to this post - letting me know, obviously, that you've done so - or send it to me at fibeckett AT live DOT com (see contact details on the blog). The closing date is January 18th. (NOW EXTENDED TO 11.59PM ON THE 24TH as there are a lot of entries in the pipeline that haven't made it through!)

Good luck!