Cheese adds flavour, texture and aroma to dishes, whether it’s salty feta crumbled into a salad, oozy melting Swiss gruyere in a sandwich, or ricotta baked into a simple dessert. From making simple fresh cheese to dishes using a vast range of European, Asian and Australian cheeses, here are some of my favourite cheese recipes.
Steamed Asparagus with Pecorino When I’m barbecuing, I’ll sometimes grill asparagus spears on the spot. But when I’m entertaining, and want to get as much done ahead of time as possible, I find it easier to steam them. I like really thin spears for this dish, but they aren’t always available so be flexible and […]
Insalata Caprese https://youtu.be/g7VFea_c67s Insalata Caprese is a classic Italian mozzarella and tomato salad from the Isle of Capri in the Bay of Naples. Indian water buffalo were introduced to the swampy plains near Naples as draft animals around the 6th or 7th century, and today this area is famous for one of Italy’s most delicious […]
Grilled Zucchini with Stracciatella Grilled zucchini with stracciatella is a simple dish that’s great as a starter or part of an antipasti. It’s inspired by a dish I had at Bert’s at Newport – the first time I ever tasted stracciatella. This wonderful southern Italian cheese is shredded mozzarella mixed with cream – it’s what’s […]
Cucumber, Fetta & Tomato Salad I love the salty tang of fetta-style cheeses, especially combined with cooling cucumber. Traditional Greek Feta is made from sheep milk, sometimes with a little goat milk added. It has PDO status, meaning only cheese produced to specific criteria within a certain part of Greece can be called Feta (note […]
Mushroom & Cheese Pies Like this recipe? You’ll love my online British cooking class! Thanks to chef Simon Sandall who rattled off this suggestion on the spur of the moment when we were making beef Wellington together and wondering what to do with leftover mushroom duxelles and pastry off-cuts. You could always make the duxelles […]
Baked Scamorza with Salami I love cheeses that melt to a lovely soft texture without becoming oily, like Italian scamorza. Baked scamorza is a perfect quick dinner with salad and some sliced salumi. In Italy it’s often topped with prosciutto, but I prefer slices of Salumi Australia’s picante (chilli) or finocchietto (fennel) salami for something […]
Cheese Scones Like this recipe? You’ll love my online British cooking class! Given scones’ British heritage, I like to use a good crumbly cheddar in my cheese scones; most of it mixed into the dough and a little saved to sprinkle on top. I use Pepe Saya buttermilk for an added tang, but use regular […]
Broad Bean Bruschetta Every meal at Lucio’s Paddington restaurant started with bruschetta, a slice of delicious toasted Italian bread, topped with a mound of something seasonal. I love using tender young broad beans during their short spring season to make this broad bean bruschetta. In summer it’s often diced ripe tomatoes; sliced sauteed mushrooms are […]
Savoury Künefe I love the flavours in the pastirma börek in my online Turkish cooking class and am impressed by how deliciously easy the sweet kunefe is. So I wondered what would happen if we combined them. Here’s the answer: a simple, crunchy, messy, delicious savoury kunefe! Be inspired to vary the filling – as […]
Trofie al Pesto Genovese Like pesto?You’ll love my online Italian cooking class featuring the food of the Italian Riviera! I love this classic way of serving pesto – with the beans and potatoes cooked in the same water as the pasta it’s more like a main meal than a starter. This is done with various […]
