Say Cheese! Interesting cheese recipes. (Cheese Recipes)

Member Name: GillMN

Product:	Cheese Recipes
Date:	17/02/09 (268 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple, quick and tasty!

Disadvantages: Cheese is high in fat content so it's best not to live on it!

Cheese is a versatile foodstuff. Both of my kids decided as teenagers that they were going to be vegetarians and they would probably have starved without it! As it was I managed to get a fair amount of protein into them by being a bit imaginative with cheese recipes. As the whole family love cheese it was no hardship for any of us.

Here are a few family favourites.

~~~ Portobello Mushrooms with cheese. ~~~
If you can't get Portobello mushrooms take the biggest mushrooms you can find.
Remove the stalks and chop finely.
Peel the mushrooms and sparingly butter them.
Put them gills side up in a baking tray.
Lightly fry the chopped stalks with some garlic and or frozen corn/peas/any left over veg (not sprouts!) If you have any pine nuts throw some in because they really add to the taste and texture.
Fill the mushrooms with this mixture. It needs not to be sloppy.
Top with a good slice of cheese. Lancashire, Cheshire or Blue Stilton are my favourites. Goat cheese is superb too but a bit pungent for some. Use Edam if you want to reduce the calorie count.
Bake in the oven at 200c for 30 minutes.
I serve two each for a main course or one as a filling starter.

~~~Camembert with lemon and garlic.~~~
This is really easy and makes a great talking point for a special celebration meal.

You will need 1 Camembert cheese each! (So it's not a cheap meal, sorry!)
A few cloves of garlic depending on how much you like garlic.
Half a slice of fresh lemon for each cheese.

What you do.
Unwrap the cheese from it's plastic wrapper and put it back into it's little wooden box.
Quarter the garlic cloves lengthways so you have slivers of garlic.
Use the end of a pointed knife and put shallow punctures in the top of the cheese and push the garlic slivers most of the way in.
In the centre of the top of the cheese make a slightly larger puncture and push the lemon slice halfway in.

Put the boxes on a shallow baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes at 180c until the inside of the cheese is completely melted. You will be able to see it oozing from the places where you put the garlic.
Serve with crusty french bread and a green salad. Ceasar salad goes well with this but the two can be a bit rich together!
It is absolutely delicious!

~~~Haloumi and olives~~~
Haloumi is a very solid greek cheese that is best cooked.
Marinade the cheese overnight or for a few hours in the fridge.
Slice the Haloumi into quarter inch slices.
Chop finely about a dozen black olives.
Season them with ground black pepper.
Add a teaspoon of lemon juice or lime cordial. (Jiffy lemon is fine)
If you have any fresh basil add a few leaves in.
Put the Haloumi in a dish and cover with the olive mixture.
Pour over enough good olive oil to just cover it all.

When you are ready to cook it remove the haloumi from the marinade, (shake any excess oil back into the dish) and put it under a hot grill until it starts to go golden. Turn it over and do the other side. It takes about three minutes each side.
When the haloumi is done, remove the olives from the marinade with a slotted spoon and place them on the slices of cheese.
Serve immediately with crusty bread and use the left over marinade as an accompanying dip for the bread. Nothing is wasted and it tastes great!

All these recipes are simple to make and you don't need to be a 'Nigella Awesome' to manage them.

I've made myself hungry now. I think I'll have some cheese on toast for my lunch!

Summary: Give them a try and experiment with your favourite cheeses.