Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Thursday <strong>January</strong> <strong>11</strong> <strong>2024</strong> 9<br />
The best things in life are cheesy<br />
“Cheese can be<br />
complicated but it<br />
doesn’t have to be,” say<br />
siblings Sam and Elle<br />
Studd, self-professed<br />
cheese experts.<br />
“It can be expensive,<br />
but there are ways<br />
to enjoy it without<br />
overly stretching the<br />
budget. It can also be<br />
an intimidating topic if<br />
you don’t know where to<br />
start, but all you have to<br />
do is take that first step.”<br />
In their new book they<br />
explore the best ways to<br />
enjoy cheese – where to<br />
buy it from, what to pair<br />
it with and how to cook<br />
with it.<br />
A twizzle of puffed pastry<br />
with cheese – a primo party<br />
starter circa 1985! Great for<br />
using the off-cuts of cheese<br />
lurking in the fridge.<br />
Sam and Elle recommend<br />
using camembert from<br />
Normandy for its barnyard<br />
funk. Industrial versions of<br />
camembert will taste bland<br />
and don’t melt as well, and<br />
they’ll often ooze a pool of<br />
oil, which isn’t the sultry<br />
look they’re going for here,<br />
especially for sharing with<br />
pals.<br />
Gooey Baked Camembert<br />
Serves 4 as a starter<br />
Ingredients<br />
2 garlic cloves, peeled<br />
250g Normandy Camembert, in<br />
Eighties Cheese Straws<br />
Makes 24<br />
Ingredients<br />
2 sheets of frozen puff pastry, just<br />
thawed<br />
1 egg, lightly beaten<br />
1 tsp smoked paprika<br />
100g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely<br />
grated<br />
60g halloumi, finely grated<br />
sea salt flakes<br />
Chilli butter<br />
50g unsalted butter, melted<br />
1 tsp chilli oil<br />
½ bunch of chives, finely sliced<br />
Method<br />
• Preheat the oven 200 deg C<br />
conventional. Line a large baking<br />
tray with baking paper.<br />
its box<br />
2 Tbsp cider<br />
4–5 sprigs of thyme, leaves<br />
picked<br />
freshly ground black pepper<br />
crusty bread, to serve<br />
Method<br />
• Preheat the oven to 200 deg C<br />
conventional.<br />
• In a small saucepan, blanch<br />
the garlic cloves in boiling water<br />
for 1–2 minutes, until softened.<br />
Drain and slice the garlic.<br />
• Remove the wax paper from<br />
the cheese and return it to the<br />
box, with the lid on the bottom.<br />
Pierce the cheese in six places<br />
• Brush the pastry sheets with<br />
some of the beaten egg and<br />
sprinkle over the paprika. Combine<br />
the cheeses and sprinkle<br />
over the top, then use a rolling<br />
pin to roll over the cheese and<br />
press it into the pastry.<br />
• Fold the pastry sheets in half<br />
and roll again with the rolling<br />
pin to firmly enclose the cheese<br />
layer. Cut the pastry sheets into<br />
2cm-wide strips, then twist each<br />
strip and place on the prepared<br />
tray. Brush with the remaining<br />
beaten egg, then sprinkle with<br />
salt and bake for 15–20 minutes,<br />
until golden brown.<br />
• Meanwhile, to make the chilli<br />
butter, combine the butter, chilli<br />
oil and chives in a bowl. Remove<br />
the cheese straws from the oven,<br />
brush with the chilli butter and<br />
serve.<br />
with a small, sharp knife and<br />
gently push the garlic into the<br />
cheese.<br />
• Spoon over the cider, making<br />
sure it seeps into the cheese, and<br />
scatter the thyme over the top.<br />
• Season with freshly ground<br />
pepper, to taste.<br />
• Wrap the base of the box<br />
tightly in foil or tie with string to<br />
keep the box together.<br />
• Place the cheese on a baking<br />
tray and bake for 10–15 minutes,<br />
until hot and bubbling and the<br />
cheese centre is liquid.<br />
• Serve immediately, dipping<br />
the crusty bread into the molten<br />
cheese.<br />
CHEESE BOARD TIPS<br />
• Store cheese in the<br />
vegetable drawer in the<br />
fridge<br />
• 14°C to 16°C is the<br />
optimum temperature<br />
for serving cheese<br />
• Remove cheese from<br />
its packaging and sit at<br />
room temperature at<br />
least one hour before<br />
serving, covered with a<br />
damp linen cloth or tea<br />
towel.<br />
• Blue cheese only needs<br />
30 minutes at room<br />
temperature, covered<br />
again.<br />
• Start compiling your<br />
cheese board one<br />
hour before serving<br />
adding charcuterie and<br />
condiments 15 minutes<br />
before.<br />
• Choose your surface –<br />
large plates or surfaces<br />
are best and dark<br />
surfaces make white<br />
cheeses pop.<br />
• Make cheese the star<br />
of the show by adding<br />
it first then adding the<br />
pairings one at at time<br />
followed by bread or<br />
crackers.