Cheese and Spring Onion Quiche Recipe

Do you remember the quiche I made a while back?  I've taken the same pastry recipe because it works every time and the same savoury custard filling because it's delicious.  This time, however, I've used a combination of spring onions which saves cooking onions, Leicester cheese for colour and because I grew up in Leicestershire and miss the local Leicester cheese, and cheddar cheese because it's always in the fridge. This time though I've used a 20cm deep tin instead of the 23cm tin I used in the last recipe.

My chive flowers are just for fun.  When I picked them they were in a tight bud and all you have to do is gently rub the bud between your fingers and they will gradually open. Place your fingers on top of the flower and gently stroke the bud open to reveal the flowers. Carnation buds sometimes refuse to open and you can use this trick with them too.

This is a fairly quick and easy recipe and after all who wants to spend loads of time in the kitchen when the sun is shining.

225g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
140g cold butter, diced
1 tsp icing sugar
1 egg yolk

For the filling:
1 bunch spring onions, sliced
75g Red Leicester cheese, grated
75g Mature Cheddar cheese, grated
2 eggs
300ml double cream

You will need: 20cm loose base fluted tin 2.5cm deep

1. Add the flour, pinch of salt and the butter into the bowl of a food processor and whiz until it resembles breadcrumbs. Now add the icing sugar, egg yolk and 3 tbsp cold water, to form a firm dough. Wrap in cling film and rest for 20 minutes in the fridge.
2. Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Roll out the pastry and line the tart tin. Cover the tin with crumpled baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Cook for 20 minutes, remove the paper and beans. Brush the pastry base with beaten egg and cook for 5-10 minutes more until the tart case is pale.
3. Turn the oven down to 160ºC.  Scatter over the spring onions and cheeses over the base of the tart case. Whisk together the eggs and cream, season. Pour into the tart case and cook for 40-45 minutes or until just set. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

If you like this post you may like these recipes too:
Cherry Tomato, Cheese and Red Onion Marmalade Quiche
Cheese, Onion and Potato Quiche with Wild Rice Salad
Roasted Tomato, Basil and Parmesan Quiche

Cherry Tomato, Cheese and Red Onion Marmalade Quiche

We've had a welcome taste of summer here in the West Midlands and quiche with a bowl of salad is always a hit with us on warmer days.

The April edition of BBC Goodfood Magazine has a recipe for BLT tart and in true food blogger style I adapted the recipe, just slightly. Unlike the original recipe I made my own shortcrust - maybe I'll give myself a gold star!

When I opened the bag of rocket to grab a few leaves for garnishing the quiche, it was a bit of a surprise to see giant rocket, it was really disappointing on taste and texture, I'll be sure to look for smaller leaves next time.

A layer of red onion marmalade is spread over the base of the pastry and makes for a very tasty quiche.

You will need:
Rectangle baking tin 36x12x3cm, baking beans, baking paper

Pastry:
170g plain flour
85g lard, chopped
85g butter, chopped
2-3 tbsp chilled water

1. Add the flour to a bowl and rub the lard and butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the water until a dough can be formed.  Remove the dough from the bowl and wrap in clingfilm. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
2. Preheat the oven to 190ºC.
3. Roll out the pastry and line the tin, trim the excess pastry.  Dock with a fork all over the pastry.
4. Take a large piece of crumpled baking paper, place on top of the pastry, fill with baking beans and place on a large tray, place in the oven to cook for 20 minutes.
5. Remove the tin from the oven and carefully remove the baking paper (don't forget the baking beans will be very hot). I mostly laboriously spoon them out into a dish until I can safely pick up the baking paper along with the last remaining baking beans.
6. Brush the base and sides of the pastry case with beaten egg.
7. Return the tin to the oven for 5 minutes or until golden.

For the filling:
150g whipping cream
100g grated mature cheddar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons of red onion marmalade
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
rocket

1. Reset the oven temperature to 180ºC.
2. Add the eggs and egg yolk to a bowl and whisk together, add the whipping cream, grated cheese, black pepper and a pinch of salt.
3. Spread the red onion marmalade over the base of the cooked pastry case.  Pour the mixture into the case, top with the cherry tomato halves.  Bake for 30-40 minutes.
4. Garnish with rocket.

Seeded Bread with Melting Camembert - Breadmaker Recipe

I've absolutely no idea why I decided to line my Camembert Baker with baking paper, it seemed like a good idea at the time.  Afterwards I realised it was a rubbish idea.....I couldn't take a decent photograph of the bread because of the paper and we had  to fight to get the Camembert off the baking parchment because the molten cheese had glued itself well and truly on.

The baker serves two purposes, it helps to keep the risen dough in shape and when the bread is nearly baked the cheese can be placed in the baker to cook into a molten lava.

The dough was made in my new and amazing Panasonic SD-ZB2502 breadmaker and it's all so easy to do.......this recipe however isn't from the book supplied with the machine but from my previous Panasonic breadmaker recipe book.

Breadmaker Recipe
500g strong white bread flour (I used Carr's)
1tsp fast action dried yeast
1½ tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
25g butter
2tbsp milk powder
300ml water
To decorate:
1 egg beaten
4 tsp mixed seeds
Box Camembert
White Vermouth

1. Add the ingredients to the bread pan in the order recommended for your bread machine. Set to dough.
2. When dough is ready remove from the bread machine.  Divide the dough into three equal pieces and roll each piece into a sausage shape 60cm long.  Press the three rolls together at the end and plait the dough together.
3. Grease a large baking tray and place the Camembert baker into the centre of the tray, grease the outside of the baker.  Wrap the plait around the outside of the baker and join the ends up to make a continuous plait.
4. Cover with oiled baking parchment and prove for 20 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 180oC Fan.
6. Brush the dough with beaten egg and sprinkle the seeds over, bake for 25 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven, place the cheese in the baker, cut a cross in the middle of the cheese and pour over the Vermouth.  Return the bread to the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Back soon!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken with a Chilli Cherry Tomato Sauce - Recipe

Neither me, hubby or this blog can live on cake alone.........although I would if I could.  Hence a recipe for an easy midweek meal.

Photographing hot meals can sometimes be a bit of a challenge, whilst I'm faffing about with the camera in the kitchen the food is getting cold, I mostly give hubby his meal whilst I'm taking photographs and then it's me who has to suffer cold food.

The bashed out chicken breast fillet is topped with a Parmesan and parsley crust and today a warming chilli tomato sauce served with a heap of spaghetti was perfect.

I didn't use fresh tomatoes but opened a tin of cherry tomatoes, next time I make it though I'm going to open a tin of chopped tomatoes and cook a few fresh cherry tomatoes in the sauce, I'm not really a fan of tinned cherry tomatoes.

Serves: 2

2 skinless fillet chicken breasts
2 tablespoons flour
1 egg beaten
50g fresh breadcrumbs
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
50g grated Parmesan cheese
freshly ground salt and pepper

For the Tomato Sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion finely chopped
1 crushed clove garlic
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
Tin of cherry tomatoes or
12 cherry tomatoes and a tin of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp Worcester sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
freshly ground salt and pepper
chopped parsley to garnish

To serve:
Spaghetti

1. Taking 3 shallow bowls or plates - place the flour into a shallow bowl. Beat the eggs in a shallow bowl. Take another bowl and mix the breadcrumbs and parsley together, add the Parmesan cheese and seasoning.  
2. Bash the chicken breast between two pieces of clingwrap - coat the chicken on both sides in the flour, then the egg and lastly the breadcrumb mixture.
3. Cover a plate in clingwrap and place both coated chicken breasts onto the plate.  Cover with clingwrap.  Place in the fridge.
4. Make the sauce by heating the oil in a pan.  Add the chopped onion and garlic.  Cook gently on a medium heat for a few minutes until the onion has softened.  Add the tomatoes and chilli and then add the Worcester and soy sauce, salt and pepper.  Simmer for 25 minutes.
5. Drizzle a little oil over the chicken and either pan fry or grill for approximately 5 minutes each side.
6. Garnish the finished dish with extra chopped parsley.

Mince Beef and Stilton Mini Pies - Recipe

I'm originally from Stilton Cheese country and these mini pies are a reminder of the shires.

When I made my cottage pie I used just half the meat mixture and with the remainder I made these mini pies. Bought shortcrust was used to make the pies on this occasion - and why not! I made one cottage pie and eight mini pies from just 500g of 10% fat Aberdeen Angus mince beef.

Packed full of flavour

To make 8 mini pies all you need is a 12 cup muffin tin - I used a loose base 12 cup individual mini sandwich tin from Lakeland - removing the pies is much easier than using a normal muffin tin.

1. 500g pack of shortcrust pastry.
2. Spray the tray with oil.
3. Roll out the pastry and with the plain side of a 11cm cutter stamp out 8 circles to line the tins. Fill the pastry cases to the top with the cooked mince beef mixture and press down with a spoon.  Top with a cube of Stilton cheese.
4. Roll out the remaining pastry and with the plain side of a 8cm cutter stamp out 8 lids. Beat an egg and brush the underside of the pastry lid with egg and press down on to the edges of the pastry bases. Pinch the edges of the pastry together. Brush the lids with beaten egg and make a large hole in the lids for the steam to escape. Place the tray in the fridge and leave to chill for 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Cook for 40 minutes until golden.

Cheese, Mustard and Poppy Seed Plait - Recipe

This crusty bread goes well with soup, it is fabulous toasted and topped with grilled cheese and tomatoes or with a wedge of cheese and a few grapes, better still a ploughman's lunch.  What more can you ask from a slice of bread. It freezes perfectly too....

I didn't make the bread by hand and get into a sweaty mess using muscles that need a workout (although the bingo wings would be grateful), I have no aggression to rid myself of,  I always use the dough hook on the mixer and am more than happy to see it doing the work rather than me.

The liquid used is milk which makes a very tender crumb, mustard powder from the store cupboard and a piece of cheddar cheese which most of have in the fridge.

You will need: 

450g strong plain white flour
1½ tsp salt
25g butter
7g easy blend dried yeast
85g strong mature cheddar cheese, grated
2 tsp mustard powder
freshly ground black pepper
300ml milk warmed until tepid
Poppy seeds
Olive Oil

1.   Flour a baking tray.
2.   Into the mixing bowl of your stand mixer sift the flour and salt. Add the butter and let the beater rub this into the dry mixture. Add the yeast, cheese, mustard powder and black pepper to the bowl.
3.   Place the dough hook onto the mixer, pour in most of the milk and mix on low until a soft dough forms, adding more of the milk if necessary to achieve a soft dough.
4.   Turn the mixer to medium speed and knead for about 10 minutes.
5.   Pour some olive oil onto your hand and spread over the dough.
6.   Cover the bowl with cling film and leave until doubled in size.
7.   Knock the dough back with the dough hook and set on low to knead for 3 minutes.
8.   Remove the dough from the mixer, divide into two equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a long sausage.  Plait the two pieces of dough together, pinch the dough together at both ends, tuck under the plait.
9.  Place the plait onto the floured baking sheet, cover with a piece of oiled baking parchment.  Leave to double in size about 30 minutes.
10. Preheat the oven to 190ºC. Brush the plait with some milk and sprinkle over the poppy seeds. Bake for 40-50 minutes until the bread is a deep golden brown.

More bread recipes:
Walnut & Rosemary Focaccia
Sunflower and Honey Flowerpot Bread
Sunburst Rolls

Easy Food Recipe: Stilton Beef Burgers

Making your own burgers is really easy and home made are always best. I have always made mine because I like to know exactly what goes into them. For those moments when you crave a burger this freshly made easy food from the kitchen for a stay at home Friday or Saturday evening, is perfect. The melting Stilton Cheese in the burgers is simply delicious.

I like my bacon well done for this recipe but if it looks too well done for you, then simply cook for less time. Left over Stilton Cheese and the uncooked burgers will freeze perfectly.  To take this food to another level I would make the burger buns and the coleslaw but for fast food days Marks and Spencer is my one stop shop.

Serves: 2

250g best quality lean mince beef
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
50g cubed Stilton cheese
25g fresh breadcrumbs
1 tbsp chopped chives
1 tsp Worcester sauce
pinch chilli powder
1/2 beaten egg
2 rashers smoked back bacon
Mayonnaise
Salad leaves
2 Burger Buns

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
2. Mix the mince beef, onion, breadcrumbs, chives, Worcester sauce, cubes of Stilton cheese and chilli powder together. Add half the beaten egg to the mixture. Season.
3. Shape into two burgers. Line a tray with clingwrap place the burgers on the lined tray and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.
4. Remove the burgers from the cling wrap, grease the tray, place the burgers on the tray.
5. Grease a small tray and place the bacon rashers on.
6. Place both trays in the oven and cook for 20 minutes, turn the bacon over half way through the cooking time.
7. Cut the burger buns in half and toast one side only.
8. Spread mayonnaise over each bun half. Place a layer of salad leaves on the base, top with a cooked burger, take a bacon rasher and place on top of the burger.
9. Serve with potato wedges sprinkled with paprika.

Stuffed Mushrooms with Leeks, Dolcelatte and Walnuts: Recipe

All photographs taken with the Nikon D3200                           

'Life's too short to stuff a mushroom' - does anyone still use this expression? In 1975 Shirley Conran, published the book Superwoman, aimed at busy women and gave advice about life using the phrase 'Life is too short to stuff a mushroom'........This recipe is definitely well worth the time spent making something tasty and inexpensive from just a few fridge and store cupboard ingredients.

Served with a simple risotto.

I placed a small amount of risotto on the plate for the photograph because it very quickly goes stodgy and doesn't like to be left hanging around, otherwise you may well end up eating it for pudding. After taking photographs, which as usual were taken speedily during cooking and serving, I topped the risotto with the remaining walnuts, Dolcelatte and thyme leaves, to give texture and interest.  I made a tried and trusted risotto recipe, used half the recommended quantities of ingredients and simply left out the bacon, leeks, Parmesan and chives.

The original recipe for the Stuffed Mushrooms with Leeks, Dolcelatte and Walnuts is from the Waitrose Kitchen Magazine - February 2013.

Adapted Recipe

Serves: 2

5 large flat mushrooms (chop one and leave the others whole)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp garlic oil
1 leek finely chopped
a few thyme leaves
25g Dolcelatte Cheese
25g walnuts chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Mix the olive oil and garlic oil together and brush one tablespoon over the whole mushrooms. season with black pepper.  Place on a roasting tin top-side down and cook for 10 minutes.
2. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and fry the leek, thyme and chopped mushrooms for approximately 5 minutes until softened.
3. Divide the mixture between the four upturned baked mushrooms, top with cubes of  Dolcelatte cheese and chopped walnuts, season.
4. Bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts.

Celery, Leek and Stilton Soup: Recipe

Celery, Leek and Stilton Soup

Now I'm an adult I like Stilton Cheese and any leftover pieces I freeze away for a rainy day. Stilton cheese, celery and leeks all get on well together and are amazing in any recipe.

A bowl of warm, comforting soup simply can't be beaten.  It's also the time of year when we are wall to wall with diets and exercise dvds - eat sensibly with good homemade food made from scratch, eat less and don't forget to eat a slice of cake every day, it always works for me.

Only if you must, the Stilton cheese can be left out of the recipe, but either way it will still taste very delicious.

Serves: 4

You will need:

25g butter
7 sticks celery - reserving the leaves.
1 large leek
1 onion
110g peeled potatoes
¼ tsp celery seeds
600ml semi-skimmed milk
250ml chicken stock
50g Stilton Cheese

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan.  Chop the celery, leek and onion, peel and chop the potato. Add to the pan and cook on a medium heat for 15 minutes to soften.
2. Pour the chicken stock and semi-skimmed milk into the pan. Add the celery seeds and season.
3. Cook for 25 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through.
4. Crumble half the cheese into the pan to melt.
5. Puree the soup with a stick blender until smooth.
6. Pour into bowls, garnish with celery leaves and crumbled Stilton cheese, if you like.

Stilton, Leek and Walnut Quiche

I was brought up in Stilton Cheese and pork pie country, there never seemed to be a day when either Stilton Cheese or pork pies didn't get a mention.  The 'grown ups' ate their Stilton Cheese with  Lincolnshire celery, and pork pies were eaten with home made piccalilli.  None of these appealed to me, and I would sooner have eaten mud, than eat these strange foods. It wasn't until I became a 'grown up' I began eating and appreciating Stilton Cheese.  I'm never going to be a pork pie fan, but I love the hot water pastry they are made from.  I ask hubby to let me eat the pastry from his pork pie but for some reason he always tells me it is an unreasonable request.......

Stilton Cheese, leeks and walnuts are a match made in heaven.  This quiche was really good other than one or two niggles.  There isn't much of a custard layer and the amount of walnuts used in the original recipe needed to be halved, perhaps it should be called Walnut, Leek and Stilton Quiche.

British Cheese Week is 22-30 September 2012.

Adapted recipe taken from British Baking in 2012 - BakingMad.com

You will need:  23cm loose bottom tart tin lightly greased.

Pastry:  250g plain flour, 60g cubed chilled butter, 60g lard cubed, 3 tbsp cold water.

Filling:  40g butter, 2 leeks washed and chopped, 1 tbsp chopped Thyme leaves, 3 large eggs lightly beaten, 100ml Creme Fraiche, 100ml milk, ¼ tsp grated nutmeg, 3 tbsp finely grated Parmesan, 30g lightly toasted and finely chopped walnuts, 125g crumbled Stilton, ground black pepper.


1.  Put flour, butter and lard into a bowl, rub in until it looks like breadcrumbs add 3 tablespoons cold water, bind to make a dough.
2.  Shape into a round disc, wrap in clingwrap and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3.  Remove pastry from fridge.
4.  Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place a large baking tray in the oven to preheat.
5.  Roll the pastry and line the tart tin.  Prick the base and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.  Line the pastry case with crumpled baking parchment, fill with baking beans.  Place the tin on the preheated baking tray and put in the oven for 15 minutes.  Remove the parchment paper and baking beans.
6.  Brush the base of the tart with some of the beaten egg from the filling and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.
7.  Set the oven temperature to 180°C .
8.  Take a large frying pan and melt the butter.  Add the leeks and cook until softened.  Stir in the thyme, grind over black pepper, cool.
9.  Add the creme fraiche to the beaten eggs and milk.  Add the Parmesan and nutmeg, season with black pepper.
10. Spread the leeks over the base of the cooked tart, sprinkle over half of the walnuts.  Scatter over the  crumbled Stilton cheese.  Pour the egg mixture over.  Sprinkle over the remaining walnuts.
11. Bake 35-40 minutes until the filling is set and golden brown.

Pizza Bianca

I'm always looking for that extra special pizza recipe and now I've found it. I've tried numerous recipes, had struggles rolling out pizza dough, I have cooked my base on a pizza stone/pizza tin/baking tin for that ultimate crisp base. I have had pizza bases that refuse to cook because they are loaded with toppings ......and more problems besides those already mentioned, such as crispy edges that you can't even get a knife through! Until now I've thought it a complete waste of time that I have a pizza stone, I've tried throwing my pizza onto the stone but somehow my pizza stone seems to have lost the point, anyway how do you transfer rolled out dough onto a hot pizza stone, it defeats me!  With this recipe you don't put the mix directly on the stone but you heat the stone up for an hour and then put your baking tray on top of the pizza stone.

I've got a new past time, brought on by hurting my back playing football with small children, I'm now watching America's Test Kitchen on PBS, I record every episode and then have the task of finding time to watch them. The presenters do seem to use a lot of salt though, they are either brining something with it, smothering something with it, putting it inside something, wiping it off or throwing it in a pot!  I'm just not sure about all that salt.....

My finished Pizza Bianca waiting for me to cut a slice!

Back to the pizza, it's the best pizza I have ever eaten. If you search for Pizza Bianca you will see lots of discussions regarding this recipe on food bloggers websites in America - it's that good. They have also given adapted recipes for the base and toppings. The recipe was apparently first printed in Cook's Illustrated and is now on America's Test Kitchen website, the problem is you need to pay to access their recipes.

This is the first stage and I added plain flour (not strong flour), salt and water to the bowl and mixed with the dough hook on low for 3 minutes.  Next stage is to add the easy blend yeast and sugar to the above mixture, now mix on low for a couple of minutes.  With the dough hook still attached to the machine mix until smooth and glossy for approximately 10 minutes.  The yeast batter should be coming away from the sides of the bowl.

Oil a bowl with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, also oil a spatula, now pour the batter mix from your mixer into the oiled bowl.  Turn the yeast batter mix over to coat the batter in extra virgin olive oil. 

Cover with cling wrap and leave at room temperature for 2 hours until it has tripled in volume.  Preheat your oven to 450 degrees, set your shelf on the middle rung, put a pizza stone on to heat up and if possible heat the stone for an hour.

Take a sturdy baking tray and pour over 2 tablespoons of extra olive oil and with your hands spread it out over the tray.  Turn the dough into the pan and spread over the pan with your fingertips. Leave to rest for 5 minutes and now with your fingertips spread the dough out into the corners of the pan.  Leave the tray uncovered for 10 minutes until the dough is bubbly.  Dock the dough with a fork 40 times to prevent it rising too much.  Cook until brown about 15 minutes.

The topping is made from drained tinned chopped and smashed tomatoes, olive oil, salt and grated mozzarella cheese.  The pizza is then cooked for 10 minutes more until the cheese browns.

What's different about this recipe?  Firstly, there is a huge amount of water mixed into the flour, and a mixer with a dough hook is required otherwise I'm not sure this recipe is achievable.  Secondly, it is best described as a batter, you definitely can't roll this out!  The finished result is crisp, light, airy and chewy, the base can also be used as a flat bread instead of a pizza base.

You will need a good baking tray that withstands high temperatures and one that you know won't warp, mine was non-stick and gave an excellent result.  Also, a good pair of oven gloves because that tray gets very, very hot!

Smoked Salmon, Dill and Goats Cheese Quiche

Smoked Salmon, Dill and Goats Cheese Quiche

This recipe comes from Simply Recipes.  Their site started way back in 2003 and was  highlighted as one of the 50 Best Food Blogs (February, 2009) Times Online. 

I was really pleased when way back in 2008 they chose my Valentine's Day Pavlova as part of a bloggers recipe roundup to celebrate all things 'romantic'. http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/valentines_day_recipes/

This is a fabulous quiche, and I am a huge quiche fan.  You could say it's a posh quiche, but because smoked salmon always seems to be on offer these days, you don't need a special event to buy a pack.  I think the goats cheese took on a life all of its own - I am sure I scattered it over the filling better than that!

It is good enough for an indoor picnic, well lets face it, with the monsoon season in full swing, we are hardly likely to be planning the next outdoor picnic.

The quiche cuts well.

I always use Delia's method to line and bake a quiche, it produces a crisp light pastry crust and I have never found anything else to beat it.  Also, the pastry doesn't become the main event but allows the filling to be the star.

Roasted Tomato, Basil and Parmesan Quiche

We have had a lovely outing to Liverpool to see a beautiful new born baby girl and her proud mummy and daddy.

I enjoy wandering around Liverpool and didn't need any persuading to revisit Delifonseca in Stanley Street for lunch.  There is a wonderful deli downstairs and upstairs they serve freshly made food. It is close to The Cavern and if you are nearby and need lunch/dinner which is made to a high standard, you can't go wrong, they also have a restaurant at Dockside, Liverpool. When I go out for lunch, I mostly choose the vegetarian option, and Delifonseca served me a fabulous quiche.  I hadn't made a quiche for some time and found this delicious recipe on the BBC GoodFood website.

   To go along side the quiche I made this crunchy rice salad.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup with Parmesan Wafers

This is the second cauliflower cheese soup recipe on my blog. To be truthful I only made the soup so that I could eat the Parmesan wafers and they are so easy to make, you will never look back. My other recipe was by Jamie Oliver and if you look at my previous posting you will see why his soup is so delicious.

The recipe comes from Woman&Home Dinner Tonight and is a really good quarterly magazine for recipe ideas, unfortunately I haven't seen it on the magazine racks in the shops recently.

The weather seems to be a little crazy, sun, wind, rain and hailstones, so perhaps I can be forgiven for posting yet another cauliflower cheese soup recipe.

Serves: 4

You will need: 25g butter, 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped leek (reserve some of the green part to garnish), 1 chopped cauliflower, 700ml vegetable stock, 600ml milk, 75g grated Cheddar cheese

1. Add the butter to a pan and melt, add the chopped leek and onion. Cover with a lid and cook over a gentle heat for 5 minutes until soft.
2. Add the cauliflower, stock and milk. Bring to the boil and simmer for 35 minutes, covered until the cauliflower is tender. Season.
3. Cool the soup and pour into a food processor or liquidizer and blitz until smooth.
4. Add the Cheddar cheese, reheat, pour into bowls and garnish with chopped green leek.

Parmesan Wafers

Line a baking sheet with parchment. Sprinkle heaped tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan in little piles on top and bake for 5 minutes at 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6 until melted. Lift off the paper and cool.

Leek, Broccoli and Stilton Soup - National Stilton Week 15 - 21 April 2012

Leek, Broccoli and Stilton cheese are a match made in heaven. The recipe is by food writer Tamasin Day-Lewis and is from her book Tamasin's Kitchen Bible.
Whilst I was growing up Stilton cheese always seemed to be in the house. I must admit though it wasn't to my taste, it was a cheese the grownups ate, and mostly with celery, another one for the grownups. I never appreciated this magnificent cheese when I lived in the shires, for me it has been an acquired taste.

Long Clawson Dairy or Tuxford & Tebbutt Stilton cheese were the ones favoured by my family because these were our local cheese makers, but when I eventually discovered Stilton cheese it was Colston Bassett for me, I think this is because it is creamier than some of the others. A digestive biscuit with a slab of Stilton on top is heavenly, my husband says I make him want to weep, and it's a waste of good cheese.

Recipe: Leek, Broccoli and Stilton Soup
Serves: 4

1 small chopped onion, 2 tbsp olive oil, 30g butter, 3 finely chopped leeks, head of broccoli chopped, 1.2 litres chicken stock, 150ml milk or cream, up to 55g Stilton to garnish, black pepper.

1. Add the oil and butter to the pan and cook the onion for a few minutes.
2. Add the leeks and broccoli to the onion, cook for five minutes.
3. Add the hot stock to the pan and bring to a simmer, cook until the broccoli is just tender. When cooked add the cream. Allow the soup to cool.
4. Return the soup to the pan and reheat gently.
5. Pour into dishes and garnish with Stilton cheese and a grinding of black pepper.

A couple more postings on my blog using Stilton Cheese - Long Clawson Dairy, Cooking Creatively with Cheese and Broccoli and Stilton Soup with Stilton Croutons.

Camembert Baked in a Box

I chose my Camembert because it has a small gingham cloth under the cheese and I thought how great it looked. Cooking the cheese this way is quick, easy, delicious and perfect for Valentine's Day or in fact any day of the year.

Not very long ago I bought a Camembert and it was so smelly I actually considered stopping the car and throwing it into the nearest bin, because it made my car smell worse than an old pair of slippers - it did the same to the fridge too. The cheese in the photograph was smelly too, and it too made my car smell horrible but I learnt from the previous one, I didn't put it in the fridge and cooked it the same day.

Preheat the oven to 200°C, take the cheese out of the box and remove the inner wrapper, place back in the box, rub the top of the cheese with a clove of garlic, cut a cross in the top and pour in some white wine. I poked a few sprigs of thyme into my Camembert and then replaced the lid. Place the box onto a small baking tray and bake for 20 minutes until the cheese wobbles.

Toasted ciabiatta, french loaf, hot new potatoes, tiny cherry tomatoes, asparagus or purple sprouting broccoli all make good dippers.

Baked Camembert

I was given this Cheese Baking Crock from Sainsbury's by my son-in-laws Mum. I am very lucky because she has a very good eye for foodie gifts that I will be able to use on my blog. She knows my blog well because she has been following me for well over five years now.

All you have to do is place your Camembert into the crock pot, I would take the Camembert out of the fridge about an hour before you want to cook it or it will take longer to cook, top with two tablespoons of the caramelised onion chutney, replace the lid - such a brilliant idea and not one I have come across before.

Cook for 10-15 minutes on 200°C until wobbly and some of the oozing cheese is trying to break through. The recipe for this is on the side of the box the cheese baking crock came in.

Serving suggestions are sliced french bread and apple, waxy new baby potatoes and tiny cherry tomatoes on the vine - very, very delicious.

Thank you Lindsay!

Jamie Oliver's Cauliflower Cheese

Jamie has given an old favourite a makeover and for me, this is the best and easiest recipe ever. No messing about making a cheese sauce anymore, the sauce is made from a pot of creme fraiche into which a good amount of cheddar cheese is added.


The topping is simply breadcrumbs mixed with some olive oil, smoked streaky bacon and rosemary leaves. The cauliflower cheese in the photograph is topped only with breadcrumbs and olive oil.

It might not be the most photogenic dish on here, but oh my goodness, does it taste good!

Taken from Ministry of Food

Serves: 4-6

You will need: 1 large cauliflower, leaves picked from 2 sprigs rosemary, 4 anchovy fillets (not in this house though!), 400ml creme fraiche, 200g grated Cheddar cheese, 4 slices of bread, 1 rasher smoked streaky bacon, extra virgin olive oil, salt and black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
2. Break the cauliflower into small pieces and add to a pan of boiling water with a pinch of salt and boil for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander.
3. Chop up the anchovy fillets and put them into a bowl with the creme fraiche. Stir in 100g Cheddar cheese and season with salt and pepper.
4. Pour a lug of extra virgin olive oil into a food processor and add the 4 slices of bread with the crusts left on, the rasher of smoked bacon and the rosemary leaves. Whiz until you have breadcrumbs.
5. Place the cauliflower into a medium size baking dish, spoon over the sauce, sprinkle over the remaining 100g Cheddar cheese and top with the breadcrumb mixture.
6. Cook for 45 minutes until golden, crisp and bubbling.

BROCCOLI AND STILTON SOUP WITH STILTON CROUTONS

A bowl of warm homemade soup, especially on a cold grey day, is a joy.

If you have any left over pieces of Stilton Cheese in the freezer, this recipe is perfect for using them up. The soup doesn't take too long to make, and you are rewarded with a wonderful pan of freshly made soup. I'm not suggesting for one minute you should make the baguette to go with the soup.........

This exceedingly delicious recipe is by Antony Worrall Thompson from his days as presenter of Saturday Kitchen.

Ingredients
350g/12oz broccoli, florets and stalks cut into small pieces
400ml/14fl oz vegetable stock
25g/1oz butter
4 spring onions, finely sliced
50g/1¾oz Stilton, crumbled, or to taste
100ml/3½fl oz double cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
For the croûtons
4 slices French bread
100g/3½oz Stilton, sliced
Method
For the soup, place the pieces of broccoli into a glass bowl. Pour over the vegetable stock.
Cover the bowl with cling film and place in the microwave. Cook on full power for four minutes, or until tender.
Meanwhile, heat a frying pan until hot then add the butter. When it starts to foam, add the spring onions and cook for one minute.
Transfer the cooked broccoli and stock to a food processor. Add the fried spring onions, Stilton and cream and blend until smooth.
Transfer the blended mixture to a pan and bring gently to a simmer.
Meanwhile, for the croûtons, toast the French bread under a grill until golden-brown on each side.
Top the grilled bread with the slices of Stilton and return to the grill until golden-brown and bubbling.
Season the soup with salt, freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.
Divide the soup equally among four warm bowls and top each with a Stilton croûton.

GOAT'S CHEESE AND SALMON TART

This recipe is from Gizzi's Kitchen Magic, the original recipe title is Goat's Cheese and Pea Tart. I knew peas in a tart wouldn't be to my taste and left them out, I don't think the tart suffered from this exclusion. If you would like to include the peas, then 120g of fresh peas are added along with the onions, salmon and goat's cheese.


Slightly adapted recipe.

Serves: 6

A 17cm tart tin lined with shortcrust pastry and baked blind.

You will need: 2 teaspoons of olive oil, 1 peeled and wedged small red onion, 100ml white wine, 120g smoked salmon cut into thin strips, 100g soft goat's cheese, 3 free-range eggs, 150ml double cream, 30g grated Parmesan cheese, freshly ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon of chopped chives.

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas 3. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the red onion and fry on a moderate heat for 5 minutes or until slightly charred but beginning to soften. Remove from the pan and put to one side.
2. Pour the white wine into a pan and boil on a high heat for 5 minutes, or until the wine has reduced by two-thirds and is syrupy. Pour into a mixing bowl and leave to cool for 5 minutes or so.
3. Scatter the red onions, smoked salmon strips and goats cheese into the cooked pastry tart. Add the eggs, cream and Parmesan to the reduced white wine and whisk together. Season well and stir in the herbs. Pour into a measuring jug.
4. Place the tart case on a baking tray and pour in the liquid - the mixture will come fairly high up the edge of the tart case. Place carefully on the bottom shelf of the oven, as the lower heat will stop the tart cooking too fast and prevent it rising like a souffle.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the tart begins to turn golden. You will still have a little wobble but it should not be runny. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.