Nikki Duffy
MORE RECIPES
Walnut and blue cheese soufflés; Celeriac soufflés; Broad bean and feta falafel; Little Gem with crushed broad beans and Parmesan; Walnut, barley, rocket and blue cheese salad; Halloumi and roasted carrot salad with pomegranate; Grilled cheese salad with bullace compote; Courgette salad with ham, borage and ewe’s cheese; Roast potatoes with radicchio and cheese; Baked parasol mushroom with Brie; Pan haggerty; Cockle and chard rarebit; Hazelnut and cheese biscuits; Cheddar and onion oatcakes
SOURCING
nealsyarddairy.co.uk; paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk
Cheese has a semi-miraculous quality that inspires respect, if not awe, for the product itself and for the people who make it. As with all the simplest foods, cheese is easy to get wrong: it requires artisanship, passion and patience to get it right. The joyful thing is just how many British producers are doing exactly that.
Made from one essential ingredient – milk – and little else, cheese nevertheless varies hugely depending on when, where and how it is made. It expresses provenance, locality and terroir in a unique way. Each of the many decisions taken by a cheese-maker, from the pasture on which a herd grazes right up to the environment in which a finished cheese matures, has a profound effect. That is why the louche butteriness of a ripe Brie differs so greatly from the translucent firmness of a nutty Berkswell. It’s why salty, moist Beenleigh Blue is a million miles away from a crumbly, subtle Lancashire. And it’s why cheeses such as Cheddar and mozzarella are so securely settled in their own culinary niche that we’ve given them separate entries in this book.
It seems likely we’ve been eating cheese, in some form, for many thousands of years. As soon as homo-sapiens worked out how to milk an animal, the potential for cheese was created, and as soon as any surplus milk was produced, the need to preserve it arose. Archaeological evidence suggests that the use of simple tools to strain curds from whey dates as far back as the sixth century BC.
The basics have not changed all that much. All cheeses begin life in the same way, when fresh milk is soured with a bacterial culture. These days, that means a carefully selected, named culture added by the maker – though originally, it would have been the bacteria naturally present in the raw milk. The bacteria begins turning lactose, the sugar in milk, into lactic acid. This helps the milk to curdle, aids the development of flavour and also suppresses the growth of unwanted organisms.
A curdling agent is then added to separate the milk into its solid and liquid parts. Rennet, which comes from the inside of a calf’s or kid’s stomach, is traditionally used, though non-animal ‘rennets’, produced from a type of fungus, are now common. A cheese labelled as suitable for vegetarians will use one of these. Milk can also be curdled with an acid such as vinegar or lemon juice (or through the action of lactic acid alone). But acid forms a fragile mass of tiny curds which need to be carefully drained over several hours. Rennet, on the other hand, quickly forms a firm, rubbery curd which is easy to handle and to cut.
Once the solid curds have formed, the watery whey is drained off. Sometimes the whey is turned into a cheese in its own right, as in the case of ricotta, or used to store the finished cheese, as with mozzarella, but usually it is seen as a by-product. The curd is what becomes the cheese. It can be eaten straight after separation from the whey but more commonly, the curd, which contains most of the fat and protein from the milk as well as the fat-soluble vitamins, is salted and moulded into a more or less firm cheese.
The way the curd is treated has a great influence on the final texture of the cheese. The more the curd is cut and pressed, the harder the cheese is likely to be, because it loses more whey during this process. Softer cheeses are cheeses with a higher moisture content, where the curd is less disturbed.
Sometimes specific moulds are introduced to form blue veining or interesting crusts and rinds that extend a ripening action deep within the cheese. And time is probably the most important ingredient of all: as cheese ages, enzymes break down the fats and proteins within it into a range of flavoursome amino and fatty acids. The longer it ages, the more characterful it becomes (though of course any cheese can be taken too far). Via all these small but hugely significant manipulations, the vast panoply of cheese varieties opens up.
There’s been a thrilling renaissance in British cheese-making in the last few decades. Along with fine examples of traditional greats, such as Farmhouse Cheddar, Lancashire and Double Gloucester, there are hundreds of modern cheeses, made to new or newly revived recipes by small, independent creameries. These represent a huge diversity of locality, technique and taste and there are very few styles of cheese anywhere in the world that cannot also be found here on our lushly pastured islands. In the pages that follow, I describe many fantastic cheeses (though still barely the tip of the cheese-berg), with an emphasis on British examples, slicing up the huge subject according to the source of the milk from which the cheese is made (cow, sheep or goat), with an additional section on blue cheese, which has its own unique character. But it is also sometimes helpful to categorise cheese according to style, as I have done briefly here.
Hard cheeses These firm, sliceable, grateable cheeses are made by cutting the curd small and pressing it hard so as to drive off lots of whey. Most of the remaining lactose from the milk is contained in the whey, so the more that is removed, the more digestible the cheese is likely to be, particularly once it has been through a maturing process, which further breaks down lactose. Hard cheeses aged for only a few weeks may still be a little crumbly and quite fresh flavoured, as in a young Lancashire, but those matured for many months, like Farmhouse Cheddar, become almost crystalline and deeply savoury.
Holey cheeses Emmenthal and Gruyère, of which there are several varieties (some not very holey), are the best known within this category. They are hard cheeses made by heating the curd enough to cook it, then pressing it very firmly to create a dense, rubbery cheese within which bubbles of carbon dioxide, produced by fermentation, form ‘eyes’ or holes.
Fresh cheeses These may be just a few days old and have a brief shelf-life. They are usually rindless, fluffy and mild, but often with a lemony, lactic-acid tang. Traditional curd cheese is the youngest of all: the best examples are simply unsalted fresh curd, the first product of cheese-making. Curd cheese is very mild but with a slight acidity that makes it wonderful in sweet or savoury recipes.
Mould-ripened soft cheeses With their characteristic bloomy white rind, these include Brie, Camembert and countless others. They are made with curd that is cut into large pieces then ladled into moulds, from which the whey is allowed to drain naturally. They lose far less whey than a hard cheese, which accounts for their moist, creamy texture. The cheeses are inoculated with a mould, Penicillium candidum (and sometimes Geotrichum candidum too), which ripens the cheese from the outside in.
Washed rind cheeses These are the most pungently perfumed of all. They include the redolent Stinking Bishop, Irish Ardrahan, Reblochon and Taleggio. Many varieties are soft, but others are relatively firm. Washed rind cheeses are laved with brine, wine, mead, ale or some other flavoursome liquor as they mature, which encourages the growth of certain flavour-producing moulds on the surface of the cheese. The rind becomes creamy orange in colour and the interior of the cheese – technically referred to as the ‘pate’ or ‘paste’ – grows silky, sticky and rich. The whole cheese develops a pungent, wild, ‘farmyard’ aroma. However, the bark is often stronger than the bite – their characters may be complex, floral and earthy, but still subtle and creamy.
The storing and maturing of cheeses is practised by experienced affineurs who manipulate humidity and temperature to bring cheeses on to absolute perfection. At home, most of us just swaddle our cheese in cling film and chuck it in the fridge. In the absence of a stone-floored pantry that stays at a constant 10–14°C, the fridge probably is the best place. However, plastic wrap is not the friend of great cheese – it makes it ‘sweat’ by trapping moisture. To stop cheese drying out in the fridge, encase it in waxed paper, which allows air and moisture to circulate. Cheese that is to be enjoyed on its own, rather than as part of a recipe, should always be brought up to moderate room temperature before serving, or its flavours will be masked.
Unpasteurised cheese
Pasteurisation, which kills most of the micro-organisms and enzymes in raw milk, is now standard in the UK. As well as killing harmful bacteria, it is useful to cheese-makers who want to achieve a consistent product because it irons out the fluctuations in flavour and aroma that come with different batches of milk. It also increases the life of the milk, allowing manufacturers to store and transport it. However, a growing number of cheese-makers are returning to raw, unpasteurised milk, to produce cheeses with fuller, more complex flavours.
Hard, matured cheeses, pasteurised or not, are not hospitable environments for pathogenic bacteria because of their relative acidity and dryness – and the longer they are aged, the more this becomes so. Softer cheeses carry a higher risk of unwanted bacterial growth because of their damp and alkaline nature; pasteurising doesn’t negate that risk because although the process kills many pathogens, milk or cheese can be contaminated after pasteurisation.
The health risk most associated with cheese is listeriosis, caused by a microbe that likes to grow in low-acid, moist conditions. Any soft, mould-ripened cheeses such as Camembert and Brie, mould-ripened soft goat’s cheeses, soft washed rind and soft blue cheeses carry a greater risk of listeria, and for this reason they are often avoided by pregnant women and those who are frail or have a compromised immune system. In addition, current advice is for pregnant women to only eat fresh soft cheeses such as ricotta and mozzarella if they are pasteurised (see nhs.uk for a complete list). Listeria infection in healthy adults and children is rare, and listeria is destroyed by cooking.
The cheese you choose
Like any dairy product, cheese begins with an animal and all the ethical and welfare issues that attach to milk (see Milk) are also relevant here. The simplest way to ensure that you are buying cheese produced under the highest welfare standards is to choose organic. But there are non-organic producers who adhere to high-welfare standards too. Smaller producers may keep their own herds and make their cheese on the same site that the animals are milked. Such makers are in control of every aspect of animal husbandry and hygiene.
Producers using milk from their own home herds also avoid having to transport it. This means the milk does not have to be repeatedly pumped, piped and agitated, and many artisan cheese-makers cite this as a crucial factor in cheese quality – the more the milk is ‘bashed about’, the more its individual fat molecules are broken down, affecting the flavour and texture of the finished cheese.
Many of the world’s great cheeses were first developed as a way to store and preserve surplus cow’s milk. Excitingly, the techniques and recipes behind many of these classics are being re-explored and revived, and there are literally hundreds of fantastic British cow’s milk cheeses to try now. I could not begin to do them all justice here, so I have instead described some of the classics as well as some notable new cheeses. These represent merely a taster: seek out the finest examples local to you by visiting delis, cheesemongers or online specialists, tracking the award-winners from events such as the British Cheese Awards, and browsing the ever-increasing canon of cheese reviews to be found online and in print.
Brie This is a bit like Cheddar in that it’s a cheese which can be made anywhere and whose noble name can be slapped on to the most insipid and disappointing of examples. Poorly made, under-matured Brie is chalky, bland and pretty unpleasant. A good one is cheese heaven – buttery, sweet and silky with a delightful, mild pungency that increases with age. Brie de Meaux is one example that does have a protected identity – an AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) showing that it is made with raw milk in the town of Meaux, near Paris. British Brie-like cheeses include the acclaimed unpasteurised Brie-de-Meaux-style Baron Bigod, made in Suffolk, the lovely organic Bath Soft Cheese and Godminster organic Brie. Brie is at its best when soft, with little or no dry centre, but not yet runny and liquid. You don’t have to eat the rind but do try it: in the best examples, it gives a wonderful earthy, minerally contrast to the sweet, silky inner paste.
Caerphilly A beautiful cheese, this is Welsh in origin but there’s a strong tradition of making it in the Southwest too. It’s quicker to produce than Cheddar, and became a source of income for Cheddar-makers while their other cheese matured. Mass-produced Caerphilly is dry and chalky but a traditionally made one has a lovely creamy layer under its rind and a tender, lactic centre. Westcombe Dairy’s Ducketts Caerphilly and the organic Welsh Caerffili from Caws Cenarth in Carmarthenshire are great examples. The award-winning Welsh Celtic Promise is based on a Caerphilly recipe, but, with a washed rind, is stronger and creamier.
Camembert This white mould-ripened cheese from Normandy is sometimes grouped with Brie but it is much more earthy. Camembert is sold in small rounds, in little wooden boxes which, conveniently, can be used to bake the cheese whole, studded with garlic and thyme, to savour with good bread and cornichons. Mature Camembert is famously pungent on the nose, but the flavour should be approachably buttery, sweet and fruity – and as with Brie, it should be soft but not uncontrollably runny. ‘Camembert’ is not a protected name, but Camembert de Normandie is. That label, and the DOP logo, signifies the most authentic, raw milk examples. However, there are some British Camembert-like cheeses worthy of attention, including Hampshire-made Tunworth, Isle of Wight Soft and the organic Little Ryding (made from unpasteurised ewe’s milk).
Gloucester Double Gloucester is the more familiar form of this cheese. Single Gloucester, which is made more quickly with less maturing time, was traditionally the worker’s cheese. This lesser-known cheese is still made by a few producers, the best examples being pale, milky and mild with a light, lemony freshness. Double Gloucester was regarded as the finer cheese – the one that went to market. Originally, it was made with creamier milk. Nowadays both single and double are made with the same milk but Double Gloucester is heated a little more, giving a firmer, drier result, and the cheese is matured for longer for a richer flavour. It should be pleasingly waxy with a hint of crumbliness and a nutty, savoury, mellow taste. Double Gloucester has for many years been coloured orange with annatto (a dye made from the seeds of a tropical tree), which was originally a way to reproduce the golden tone of the very best cheeses, made with the richest milk. Try cloth-wrapped, unpasteurised Gloucesters, such as those made by Jonathan Crump in Gloucestershire from the milk of the now very rare Gloucester breed of cattle.
Gouda This is not to be confused with Edam, which is a far less interesting Dutch cheese. A buttery, nutty Dutch Gouda, ideally at least 2 years old, is a marvellous thing, with a depth of flavour to rival a mature Cheddar, only smoother, less spicy and sharp. Mature Gouda is ideal for a cheeseboard – perfect for nibbling, slice by thin slice, with a glass of red wine. British Gouda-style cheeses include the unpasteurised Welsh Teifi and the wonderful, deeply fruity Northumbrian Berwick Edge. Irish Coolea, meanwhile, from County Cork, tastes like a delicious cross between a mature Cheddar, an aged Gouda and a Parmesan.
Lancashire Made in the traditional way, this is a semi-hard cheese with a crumbly texture and an excellent flavour. Factory-produced Lancashire is a poor imitation. Thankfully, producers are making this cheese in the traditional, painstaking way again: adding low levels of starter culture so that the milk ripens slowly, then gently pressing and breaking the curd over and over to drive off the whey, and finally mingling the curd from 2 or 3 separate days’ milking to achieve just the right level of acidity. A good Lancashire such as Kirkhams, at 3–4 months old, is pale and mildly saltily tangy, with a wonderful, moist, buttery crumbliness. A superb cheese for eating alone or cooking.
Reblochon This soft, washed-rind, unpasteurised cow’s milk cheese hails from the Haute-Savoie region of France. It is very rich and has a unique, softly rubbery texture. Reblocher means to ‘remilk’, and the cheese was traditionally made from a second milking, which drew off the richer, fattier hind milk. It’s fantastic as a stand-alone cheese to end a meal, but also very good melted – as in the simple, hearty classic tartiflette, a gorgeously rich potato, cheese and bacon gratin. Baronet is a British Reblochon-style cheese, made from rich, organic Jersey milk in Wiltshire.
Red Leicester Like Gloucester (see above), this is traditionally dyed with annatto. A good, matured Leicester is smoother than a Cheddar in both flavour and texture but rich, nutty and full flavoured. Sparkenhoe Red Leicester, made on the farm from unpasteurised milk, cloth-bound and matured for a minimum of 6 months, is a great traditional example.
Stinking Bishop First made in Gloucestershire in 1994, this washed-rind cheese is based on a very old recipe once used by Cistercian monks. The rind is washed with perry to encourage the development of the ‘smear mould’. As the name suggests, this cheese announces its presence without restraint. However, the flavour is exceptionally fruity, buttery, sweet and tangy, rather than pungent.
This group contains some of the most interesting and tempting of all cheeses. Sheep’s milk is naturally homogenised and relatively rich, being much higher in fat and protein than cow’s and goat’s milk. It contains approximately 20 per cent solids, as opposed to 10–12 per cent in cow’s and goat’s milk. This means sheep’s milk is ideal for cheese-making, and it produces pale, beautiful examples, often with a translucent quality if they are firm. As with goat’s milk, the paleness of ewe’s milk is down to beta carotene from grass being fully digested by the animal, rather than passing into the milk.
Sheep’s milk does not have the rich concentration of caproic acid found in goat’s milk, so sheep’s cheeses lack the ‘farmyard’ smell associated with mature goat’s cheeses. Sheep’s cheeses can be very subtle, with delicious sweet, floral and nutty characteristics.
One could argue that the potential for ewe’s cheese has not fully been realised in the UK – we are, after all, very good at farming sheep. But ewe’s milk is much more seasonal than cow’s or even goat’s. Lambs are removed from their mothers anything between 3 days and 6 weeks after birth, then moved on to cow’s milk, so that the ewes can be milked. A ewe will give milk for up to 7 months after lambing, before she ‘dries up’. These days, cheese-makers use the milk from both spring- and autumn-lambing flocks to extend the cheese-making period, and sometimes freeze the milk to facilitate this too, so you can buy many sheep’s cheeses all year round.
We have relatively few ewe’s cheeses to choose from – but they can be superb. There are some European classics too, of course, including Manchego and Roquefort.
Berkswell A hard, unpasteurised Midlands ewe’s milk cheese of exceptional, buttery, savoury deliciousness, this is best at around 4 months old. Use it slivered in salads, grated on pasta, or nibbled with fruit.
Duddleswell This firm ewe’s milk cheese from High Weald Dairy in Sussex is nutty and rich. It’s a great alternative to a medium Cheddar and melts like a dream.
Feta Salty and crumbly, this is made from sheep’s milk, but sometimes with some goat’s milk added. It’s formed into hard blocks and preserved in brine. True feta can only come from Greece, but there are other feta-style cheeses such as the lovely, not-too-salty Homewood pickled ewe’s cheese from Somerset.
Halloumi This unique cheese from Cyprus is quite rubbery in texture and salty, with a fairly mild taste. It comes into its own when fried or grilled, forming a delicious golden crust and softening without melting. It is traditionally a sheep’s milk cheese, but these days may also be made from goat’s or cow’s milk. There are some good British halloumis now – try those from Homewood or High Weald.
Lord of the Hundreds This matured, hard ewe’s cheese is made in Sussex from ewe’s milk brought in from Essex. Nutty and sweet with a lovely tang like a mature Cheddar, it melts nicely, releasing amazingly fruity flavours.
Manchego A hard ewe’s cheese from Spain, this is salty, waxy, rigorous and quite delicious with something sweet and fruity. Membrillo (quince paste) is the classic partner but any tart fruit jam or preserve is good. The Scottish Corra Linn is firm, nutty and salty – made in the spirit of Manchego, but with a distinctive character of its own.
Sussex Slipcote A lovely, soft, fluffy organic ewe’s cheese, so mild and fresh-tasting that you can eat it for pudding with fruit and honey, or use it in a cheesecake. However, it’s also a gentle alternative to soft goat’s cheese in salads.
Goat’s milk can produce wonderful cheeses of hugely varied character. The freshest – just a few days old – are fluffy and mild, and can be used as you would a cow’s-milk curd cheese. Slightly older, white-rinded examples retain a zesty, lemony, fresh character, while mature goat’s cheeses may have a much deeper, sweeter, more complex flavour.
It is the breakdown of the particular fatty acids in goat’s milk – notably capric, caprylic and caproic acids – which gives it its unique aroma and flavour. However, goat’s cheese needn’t be overpoweringly ‘goaty’. How pronounced that farmyard tang becomes is hugely dependent on the way the milk is handled. If it is dealt with gently, without pumping, for instance, or cooled quickly after collection, the goaty flavours do not develop in the same way. And even goat’s cheeses with a really pungent aroma tend to taste milder than they smell.
Despite its bucolic image, most British goat’s milk – including the milk used by many artisan goat’s cheese makers – is produced from ‘zero-grazing’ herds kept in barns all year round and fed with a controlled ration. This is the easiest way to ensure consistently high production and some producers would argue that in this country, goats are most comfortable in that system as they are not ideally suited to the British climate or terrain. They dislike wet weather, for instance, and their coats lack lanolin so do not offer the same natural waterproofing as, say, a sheep’s fleece. And they are browsers, rather than grazers, preferring leaves, hedges, young shoots, bushes and scrub to chomping on grass like cows or sheep. Others counter that the sight of goats happily basking in the sunshine or nibbling at a hedgerow confirms that, in the right conditions, goats love fresh air and free-ranging as much as any creature.
As with dairy calves and lambs, the kids of dairy goats are nearly always removed from their mother a couple of days after birth and fed on formula. Often male kids are put down immediately, but there are a growing number of goat’s milk producers now sending their young billies to be raised for meat (see Goat & kid).
At the time of writing, the Soil Association only certify one goat’s cheese producer as organic. This is Greenlands in Herefordshire, where they give their goats 24-hour access to the outdoors and allow the kids to stay with their mothers for the first couple of months of life. There are, however, other non-organic producers with small herds who let their goats go outdoors to enjoy a range of natural forage – which of course is reflected in the rich and complex flavours of their milk.
Brinkburn This Northumbrian goat’s cheese is pale, firm and salty with a beautifully complex flavour: all new-mown hay and sea breezes. Delicious nibbled piece by slender piece, it’s also wonderful when melted and bubbling.
Stawley Mild, dense and creamy, with a wrinkled rind, this is made from the raw milk of free-ranging goats at Hill Farm Dairy in Somerset. Often, it is inoculated with a whey starter (from the previous day’s cheese-making), which allows a more complex flavour than a conventional proprietary starter. It’s fantastic eaten alone or in salads.
Quickes hard This firm, salty cheese is essentially a goat’s Cheddar and tastes only mildly goaty. It has a unique nutty character. Try it in place of Parmesan – it doesn’t taste the same, but it works well in similar dishes.
Ticklemore This tender but firm, floral Devon cheese is made from the milk of goats that browse outdoors. Beautiful cut into slivers and served in simple salads with crisp, raw veg or peppery leaves and really good extra virgin oil, it’s also excellent with barbecued vegetables.
The fact that curdled milk and mould can together create a foodstuff about which many of us feel quite dizzily passionate is one of the wonders of the world.
In the past, cheese moulds would be allowed to grow naturally, encouraged by siting the cheese in certain places, such as the damp limestone caves of Combalou, where Roquefort is aged; or via creative interventions such as swirling horse tack through the milk. These days, blue cheeses are made in a more controlled way by inoculating the milk, or the freshly formed curds, with a mould – Penicillium roqueforti or Penicillium glaucum. Unusually, these microbes are able to grow in very low oxygen conditions, such as the interior of a cheese. They do need some oxygen, however, which is why the inoculated cheeses, once shaped, are often pierced with needles, creating an ingress for air, which stimulates the mould into growth. The mould acts on the fats and proteins in the cheese, breaking them down in a way that would happen anyway over time – but faster. These chemical changes result in the characteristic pungent flavours and aromas of blue cheeses.
The best blues, I find, are those where the veining meanders through a paste that is creamy, salty and sweet. Such cheese is a great ingredient, a superb counterpoint to fruity and nutty flavours in salads. But the finest should be enjoyed with just a few simple partners: pears or apples, hazelnuts or walnuts, honey, slivers of celery, maybe bread – though even that is not essential.
Beauvale This is a new blue cheese, made at the Cropwell Bishop Stilton creamery. It is in the realms of Gorgonzola, but gentler, with a wonderful, hazelnutty, buttery flavour all its own.
Beenleigh Blue Made in Devon, this has a strong, spicy flavour and is a great British alternative to Roquefort.
Cornish Blue This moist, sweet cheese is made with milk from the home herd at Knowle Farm near Bodmin Moor. It’s a little milder, softer and gentler than your average blue.
Dorset Blue Vinney A River Cottage favourite, this cow’s milk blue is crumbly, tender and medium strength. Very good on a cheeseboard, it is also wonderful for cooking.
Harbourne Blue This lovely, pungent cheese is made in Devon from goat’s milk, which is rare for a blue. It has the creaminess that, for me, is the most wonderful counterpoint to that salty blue kick.
Perl Las A creamy, sweet, organic blue, this is a Welsh beauty.
Roquefort A cheese so great that it gives its name to the mould used to inoculate countless other blues, this French ewe’s cheese has a characteristic damp texture and is one of the saltiest and most piquant of all the genre.
Stilton Although never actually made in the village of Stilton, this iconic blue must be produced in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire or Leicestershire from local milk. It is a little drier and firmer than many blues, becoming creamier as it matures, and at its best has a wonderful nutty flavour alongside its punchy blue tang.
LANCASHIRE, APPLE AND LEEK PIZZA
This delicious pizza topping celebrates the classic pairing of crumbly, lactic Lancashire with apples. Serves 6
FOR THE PIZZA DOUGH
250g plain white flour
250g strong white bread flour
1½ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp fast-acting dried yeast
1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil, plus a little extra for oiling
FOR THE TOPPING
4 medium leeks
80g butter
1 tsp thyme leaves
4 tsp plain flour
250ml whole milk
3 crisp eating apples, such as Cox or Lord Lambourne
300g Lancashire cheese, crumbled or coarsely grated
3 tbsp extra virgin olive or rapeseed oil
Sea salt and black pepper
To make the dough, in a large bowl, mix the two flours with the salt and yeast. Add the oil and 325ml warm water and mix to a rough dough. Tip out on to a lightly floured surface and knead for 5–10 minutes, until smooth; it should be a loose, sticky dough, so try not to add more flour. Trickle a little oil into a clean bowl, add the kneaded dough and turn it in the oil so it is covered with a light film. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size – at least an hour, probably closer to two.
Meanwhile, for the filling, slice the leeks into 1cm rounds; wash well and drain. Place in a saucepan with 20g butter, 2 tbsp water, the thyme and some salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Cook for 4–5 minutes until the leeks are starting to soften. Add the remaining 60g butter. Once it is melted, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, then stir in the milk. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until thick and creamy.
Preheat the oven to 250°C/Fan 230°C/Gas 9 (if it goes that high) or at least 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7. Put a baking sheet in to heat up.
When the dough is well risen and puffy, tip it out and ‘knock it back’ by poking it with your outstretched fingers until it collapses to its former size. Leave to rest for a few minutes on a lightly floured surface then cut it into 3 equal pieces.
Roll out one piece as thinly as you can. Take the hot baking sheet from the oven, scatter it with a little flour and place the dough base on it. Spread a third of the leek mix over the pizza base, leaving the very edges uncovered. Peel, core and thinly slice 1 apple and scatter over the leeks. Then sprinkle over one-third of the cheese. Trickle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 10–15 minutes, or until the base is crisp and golden.
Repeat with the remaining dough ingredients to make 3 pizzas.
EWE’S CHEESE WITH CHICKPEAS, ROASTED CHILLIES AND OLIVES
Any feta or feta-style cheese works well here. Use fairly mild, fleshy chillies, such as Hungarian hot wax, taste-testing them to ascertain their heat. Serves 4
200g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in cold water (or 2 x 400g tins chickpeas, drained)
2–3 bay leaves
1 head of garlic, cut in half horizontally (or just 1 clove, chopped, if using tinned beans)
75ml extra virgin olive or rapeseed oil, plus extra to trickle
Lemon juice, to taste
4–6 fleshy, mild chillies (or 2 red peppers)
Leaves from a bunch of flat-leaf parsley
150g stoned black olives
200g feta-style cheese, broken into chunks
Sea salt and black pepper
If using dried chickpeas, drain and put into a pan with the bay and garlic. Cover with plenty of fresh water, bring to a simmer, skim, then lower the heat. Simmer until tender, 1–2 hours, depending on the chickpeas, topping up the water if necessary.
Drain the cooked chickpeas and return to the pan. Squeeze out the flesh from the garlic skins into the pot, add the oil, a good couple of squeezes of lemon juice and lots of salt and pepper; give them a light bash with a potato masher and set aside.
(If using tinned chickpeas, gently heat the oil in a large pan with a chopped garlic clove for a couple of minutes, add the drained chickpeas and heat through, then add the lemon juice and seasoning, and bash as above.)
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Halve the chillies and remove the seeds. Put them into a small roasting tin. Season, trickle over a little oil, cover with foil and roast for about 25 minutes, or until tender. Leave until cool enough to handle, then slice thickly.
Meanwhile, chop half the parsley with the olives to a fairly fine texture, add a little oil and mash to a loose paste. Gently reheat the chickpeas.
Divide the chickpeas between warmed plates and scatter over the chillies and cheese. Spoon on the olive mixture, sprinkle with the remaining parsley leaves and serve.
