Tag: cheese

Grilled Halloumi with Pear

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Grilled Halloumi with Pear
Grilled Halloumi with Pear

This is a heavenly combination of salty halloumi, sweet and spicy fruit and fabulous fresh basil!

2 pears
30ml lemon juice
60ml brown sugar
2,5ml ground cinnamon
30g butter, cubed
2 x 300g blocks Halloumi cheese
1 x 230g Dulce del Cabo sculpted fruit preserve (or 230g fruit preserve of your choice)
a handful of small basil leaves

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a small baking tray with baking paper.
Halve the pears and remove the core.
Place the pears, cut-side up on the prepared baking tray and drizzle with lemon juice.
Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon on the fruit and place a piece of cubed butter on each.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, flip them over and bake for another 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and set aside.
Turn your oven on the grill setting.
Score the halloumi, without cutting through, in a diamond pattern – about 2cm deep.
Place both blocks of cheese on a lined baking sheet and drizzle over some vegetable oil.
Place the cheese under the hot grill until browned and slightly scorched. (about 8 minutes, depending on your oven)
Cut the fruit preserve into pieces and add to a small saucepan set over medium-low heat.
Pour in 60ml of water and stir until melted.
Place the halloumi on a serving platter and arrange the pear around it.
Drizzle over the fruit preserve and scatter with basil leaves.
Serve with a crusty bread.

Chilli Cheese Garlic Bread

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Chilli Cheese Garlic Bread
Chilli Cheese Garlic Bread

1 x 250 g bottle of cheese spread
150g butter, cubed
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 red chillies, very finely chopped
250ml grated mozzarella cheese
2 sourdough loafs or baguettes

Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Add the cheese spread, butter, garlic and chillies to a small saucepan and place over a low heat.
Stir the mixture around while the butter melts. Keep going until amalgamated.
Add the grated mozzarella and stir until the cheese has melted and has incorporated into the sauce. Take from the heat.
Slice the bread on the diagonal into slices 2cm apart, taking care not to go all the way through to the bottom.
Spread the cheese mixture generously between the slices.
Wrap the bread in foil. (You may freeze one loaf at this stage).
Place the loaf on a baking sheet and put into the oven for 30 minutes.
Serve immediately.

Potato-Cheese Flatbread

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Potato-Cheese Flatbread
Potato-Cheese Flatbread

Yields two flatbreads

3 potatoes, cooked (about 250 – 350ml cooked potato)
60ml butter
250ml cheese, grated (I use parmesan and cheddar)
5ml salt
5ml garlic salt
15ml chives, chopped
250ml yoghurt
375ml self-raising flour
butter

Mash the cooked potato while it is still warm and mix in the butter, cheese, salt, garlic salt and chives. Set aside to cool.
Add the yoghurt and flour to a bowl and combine.
Knead until you have a smooth ball of dough – add a small amount of flour if the dough is too sticky.
Divide the dough in two balls.
Roll out into a circle of 1cm thickness.
Add half the potato mixture, flatten into a smaller circle and gather the edges of the dough around the filling. Pinch together the dough to seal the potato filling.
Flip the filled dough and gently roll it out to a disk shape that will fit your pan.
Pan-fry on both sides on medium heat, until golden, brushing with melted butter.
Serve the bread warm.

2-Ways with Camembert

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on 2-Ways with Camembert
2-Ways with Camembert

Baked Camembert:
1 roll puff pastry
1 Camembert cheese
egg wash: an egg yolk + 30ml water whisked together
125ml fruit jam of your choice (I used strawberry)
45ml water

Preheat your oven to 190℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Place the puff pastry on the prepared baking sheet and sit the camembert on top. Cut a circle around the cheese with a border of about 1 cm.
Lay the rest of the pastry on a work surface and cut into 1cm wide strips, about 15cm long.
Now lay the strips over the cheese so that it forms a latticed pattern. (See video). The pastry should cover the cheese without any gaps.
Trim off the excess pastry and brush the covered cheese with the egg wash.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Add the jam and water to a small saucepan over a low heat.
Stir the jam and allow to melt so that it easily runs off a spoon.
Pour/drizzle the sauce over the baked cheese and serve with crackers or a crusty bread.

Brûleé Camembert:
1 camembert cheese
30ml – 45ml brown sugar
fresh grapes, halved
125ml fruit jam of your choice
45ml water

Cut away the top rind of the cheese so that it lifts off like a lid. Remove this rind and discard.
Sprinkle the brown sugar over the cheese and brûleé with a blow torch until it bubbles.
Place the camembert on a serving plate and pile the grapes on top.
Melt the jam and water together and drizzle over the grapes and cheese.
Serve with crackers or a crusty bread.

Dutch Beer Dip

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Dutch Beer Dip
Dutch Beer Dip

15ml butter
15ml flour
2,5ml mustard powder
125ml beer
125ml cream cheese
125ml grated Dutch cheese (or cheddar)

Add the butter to a small saucepan over a low heat. Stir until the butter has melted.
Add the flour and cook for 30 seconds while stirring.
Add the mustard powder and stir through.
Pour in the beer in a thin stream while whisking constantly.
Turn the heat to low, stir in the cream and add the cheese.
Stir until completely melted and incorporated as a sauce.
Serve the sauce as a dip with vegetable sticks, pretzels or bread sticks.

Beer and Cheese Pies

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Beer and Cheese Pies
Beer and Cheese Pies

If you have ever been to Oktoberfest, this is the taste version!!

1 packet phyllo pastry
125g butter, melted
190ml cream cheese, room temperature
83ml beer
30ml granulated mustard
2,5ml garlic powder
190 ml grated Boerenkaas (or Gouda)
190ml grated Cheddar cheese
1 egg

Preheat your oven to 220℃ and brush a 12-hole muffin tin with the melted butter.
Lay the phyllo sheets flat on a large chopping board and cut it into six squares – all the sheets at once.
Brush the top sheet with melted butter.
Lay a phyllo square into a muffin hole and pat it down.
Lay another square at an odd angle onto the first and pat it down. Finish the phyllo cup with a third layer of pastry.
Fill all 12 muffin holes in the same way and set aside.
Add the cream cheese and half the beer to a small saucepan set over medium heat.
Stir the mixture until the cheese has melted.
Add the rest of the beer, stir and lower the heat.
Add the mustard and garlic powder.
Add a small amount of the grated boerenkaas and cheddar and wait for it to incorporate and melt into the mixture.
Keep adding small amounts of cheese and stirring until all cheese are incorporated.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk until completely smooth. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
Add the egg to the mixture and whisk to incorporate.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared phyllo cups and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. The tops should be slightly burnt.
Serve the tarts warm or at room temperature with an ice cold beer.

Pan-Fried Halloumi

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Pan-Fried Halloumi
Pan-Fried Halloumi

Halloumi cheese, cut into 0,5cm slices
vegetable oil

Dressing:
2 red chillies, very finely chopped
20ml parsley, very finely chopped
15ml lemon juice
30ml olive oil
a pinch of salt

Add all the ingredients for the dressing to a small bowl and stir together. Put aside.

Place a heavy frying pan on medium to high heat and wait for it to become hot.
Add about a teaspoon of oil to the pan and give it a swirl.
Now lay the halloumi slices down in the pan without them touching.
Fry for about one and a half minutes before flipping and frying the other side. Do not move the cheese around when frying as you will lose the caramelisation and beautiful golden crust!
Keep going until all the cheese is fried.
Place the halloumi on a serving dish and spoon over the dressing while still hot.
Serve immediately.

Twice Baked Cheese Soufflé

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Twice Baked Cheese Soufflé
Twice Baked Cheese Soufflé

This is an easy soufflé, packed to the brim with flavour!

75ml flour
250ml milk
a pinch of nutmeg
5ml salt
4 eggs, separated
250ml Gruyére cheese, grated
250ml cream
5ml dried tarragon
rocket leaves
15ml olive oil
5ml lemon juice
a pinch of salt

Preheat your oven to 190℃ and brush 6 heatproof ramekins with sunflower oil – be generous!
Add the flour to a small saucepan but do not place it on the heat.
Drizzle in some milk to form a paste.
Place the saucepan on medium heat and slowly drizzle in the rest of the milk while whisking continuously.
Simmer the mixture while stirring for about 3 minutes – you want the mixture to be very thick.
Take the saucepan from the heat and add the nutmeg and salt and mix through.
Allow the mixture to cool until it is warm to the touch but not burning your finger.
Add the egg yolks one at a time and stir until incorporated.
Stir in the cheese and put aside.
Beat the egg whites to medium-stiff peaks and fold it into the cheese mixture.
Spoon the batter into the ramekins.
Place the ramekins in a roasting tin and fill the tin about 2-3cm deep with hot water.
Bake the soufflés for 20 minutes.
The soufflés will deflate once you take them from the oven, but do not panic!!
Turn your oven down to 180℃.
Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and unmould the soufflés – they are now upside down…
Pour the cream into a small saucepan and add the tarragon.
Bring the cream to a boil, turn off the heat and allow to stand for about 10 minutes.
Spoon the cream onto the soufflés and bake them for another 15 minutes.
Serve immediately with a side of rocket dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and salt.

Halloumi Skewers

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Halloumi Skewers
Halloumi Skewers

These skewers make for a great canapé especially during an evening of outdoor cooking.

500-600g halloumi cheese
1 fresh pineapple
3 red chillies
45ml lemon juice
wooden skewers

Cut the halloumi into 1,5cm blocks.
Peel the pineapple and cube it into blocks the size of the cheese.
Skewer the cheese and pineapple and put aside.
Chop the chillies very fine and add it to the lemon juice.
Grill the skewers on a medium-hot fire until the cheese starts to melt and it is slightly charred.
Remove from the grill and immediately brush with the chilli-lemon dressing.
Serve while warm.

Borrelbrood (Pull-Apart Bread)

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Borrelbrood (Pull-Apart Bread)

This pull-apart bread is a traditional snack in the Netherlands and is an absolute guilty pleasure. Borrelbrood is the perfect addition to a casual BBQ as a tasty side for the meal.

1 Medium sized bread
100g Cheese spread
100g + 30g Butter
4 Cloves of garlic, minced
Smoked ham, sliced
Mozzarella cheese, sliced

Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Make slits into the loaf of bread (without slicing through) about 3cm apart.
Now turn the bread and start making some more slits 3cm apart in the poolside direction to make squares.
Place the loaf on a large square of aluminium foil and place it onto a baking tray.
Add the cheese spread, 100g butter and minced garlic to a small saucepan.
Place on a medium-low heating stir until melted and completely amalgamated.
Spoon the butter-cheese mixture into the slits of the bread.
Lay the ham into every second slit and the mozzarella into the alternating open slits.
Melt the 30g butter and brush the bread to get that nice golden colour.
Cover the bread with the overhang from the aluminium foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Open the foil to reveal the top of the bread and proceed to bake it for another 10 minutes.
Remove the bread from the oven and serve warm!