Cheese for All Seasons
Montgomery Cheddar and pale ale rarebit with cauliflower
Serves 6
Ingredients
50g unsalted butter
50g plain flour
165ml pale ale
165g Montgomery Cheddar, grated
3 tsp balsamic vinegar
6 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 heaped tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 egg yolk
150g cauliflower, cut into small florets
600g pain de campagne
2 tbsp chopped parsley Cauliflower and pale ale make this Welsh rarebit thick and velvety.
Method
To make the Welsh rarebit mixture, put the butter in a pan over a medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the flour. Stir with a whisk to make a roux. Cook, stirring continuously, for about 1 minute, or until the flour is cooked, then add the pale ale in parts and continue stirring.
When the mixture starts to thicken, add the Montgomery Cheddar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and mustard. Stir until it’s all smooth, remove from the heat, then add the egg yolk.
Put the cauliflower in a pan of boiling salted water and cook for 2 minutes so it retains some crunch. Drain well, then add to the Welsh rarebit mix. Preheat the grill. Cut the bread into 6 thick slices and place under the grill to toast on both sides. Spread the Welsh rarebit mix on top of each slice of toast and return to the grill.
Grill for 5-8 minutes until the rarebit is golden brown and bubbling. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Aubergine, confit tomato and St Tola terrine
Serves 12
Ingredients
350g St Tola, cut into 5mm slices
Salt and ground black pepper
500g baby leaf salad, to serve
Olive oil, to serve For the confit tomatoes
20 plum tomatoes
2 level tbsp demerara sugar
4 sprigs of thyme, leaves only
Olive oil, for drizzling
For the aubergine caviar
6 aubergines
8g gold-leaf gelatine
60g pitted black olives, finely chopped
20g capers, finely chopped
1 plum tomato, deseeded and chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped basil leaves
Method
This terrine sets in the fridge overnight, so prepare the day before required.
Start with the confit tomatoes. Preheat the oven to the lowest temperature. Then score the skin of the tomatoes a couple of times. Put in a bowl of boiling water for 10 seconds and then in a bowl of iced water. Remove the skin, deseed and cut in 4.
Put in a baking tray, sprinkle with the sugar and thyme, season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with oil. Bake in the oven for 1½ hours. Remove, then leave to cool.
For the aubergine caviar, increase the oven temperature to 190C (375F/Gas 5). Put the whole aubergines in the oven and bake for 1 hour. They are cooked when a toothpick goes in without meeting any resistance. Remove, then leave to cool before cutting it in half. Use a spoon to remove the pulp, then put it in a food processor and blitz for few seconds.
‘Bloom’ the gelatine by putting it in a small bowl of cold water and leaving for 1 minute until it is soft. Remove the gelatine from the bowl and press it between your fingers to squeeze out the excess water. Place in a small bowl in a microwave for 2-3 seconds until liquid.
Put the aubergine purée in a bowl with the olives, capers, tomato, lemon juice, parsley and basil. Add the gelatine and season with salt and pepper. Mix together thoroughly.
Line a 20cm (8in) terrine tin with clingfilm, leaving enough clingfilm hanging over the edges to fold over the top. Put half the aubergine caviar mixture in the tin, then cover with half the confit tomatoes and half the St Tola. Repeat with another layer of aubergine caviar, followed by the remaining confit tomatoes and St Tola. Fold the clingfilm over to cover, then refrigerate overnight.
The next day, open the cling film, put a plate on top of the terrine tin and turn the terrine out. Slice with a sharp knife and serve with some baby leaf salad and a drizzle of olive oil.
Cornish Blue ice cream with caramelised walnuts
Makes 1 litre (1¾ pints)
Ingredients
600ml (1 pint) full-fat milk
100ml (3½fl oz) whipping cream
200g caster sugar
1 tbsp icing sugar
1 tbsp clear honey (such as acacia)
Pinch of sea salt flakes
100g Cornish Blue
10g caramelised walnuts
For the caramelised walnuts
100g walnuts
1 tsp demerara sugar
1½ tbsp clear honey
Pinch of dried herbes de Provence
1 tsp unsalted butter, room temperature,
Method
This cheese ice cream is endlessly talked about in our restaurant (Androuet) – it’s a definite hit!
First, prepare the caramelised walnuts. Preheat the oven to 170C (325F/Gas 3). Mix together the walnuts, sugar, honey and herbes de Provence before spreading on a baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes or until the nuts are a caramel colour.
Remove from the oven and mix with the butter. Leave to cool, taking care that the walnuts stay separate. Set aside.
For the ice cream, start by putting the milk, cream, caster sugar, icing sugar, honey and salt in a heatproof bowl over a bainmarie. Warm the mixture gently, stirring occasionally, but do not allow to boil. When the mixture is warm, add the Cornish Blue and stir thoroughly so the cheese melts and the mixture is well combined.
Remove from the heat and leave to cool, then refrigerate for 4 hours. When the mixture is cold, transfer to an icecream maker, following the manufacturer’s instructions. Halfway through the churning, add 10g of the crushed caramelised walnuts. Continue churning until the mixture is well combined.
Serve each scoop of ice cream decorated with a half caramelised walnut, or transfer to a shallow freezer-proof dish and put in the freezer to eat later.
If you do not have an icecream maker, put the chilled mixture in a shallow freezerproof dish in the freezer. Remove from the freezer every hour, for 3 hours, and whisk with a handheld electric whisk to ensure the ice cream is smooth. Return the ice cream to the freezer one more time until firm.
Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving so the ice cream is soft enough to scoop.
A Year In Cheese, by Alex and Léo Guarneri with photography by Kim Lightbody, is published by Frances Lincoln, priced £20.