Cheese Recipes | Finding Feasts

Danish Sweet Cheese Pastries From Scratch

Danish Sweet Cheese Pastries From Scratch comes direct from Nigella Lawson’s, How To Be A Domestic Goddess cookbook. I chose this one for the mere fact that it’s a food processor made dough, which in my mind will make the dough making process easy and clean… hahaha!!

To start with and probably the one thing EVERYONE mentions about this dough is just how moist, messy and sticky it is… and they weren’t wrong. It’s like glue!

In the original recipe it asks to mix the dry ingredients then add the cold butter in the food processor then add this to the combined wet ingredients. That was far too messy for me, considering everyone’s comments on this particular pastry recipe, so I did it slightly different – I did it all in the food processor. The result was still a success, but you are still going to get dirty trying to remove the dough from the processor into a bowl for it to prove.

**Brainwave** Leave the dough to prove in the processor bowl! Will let you know how it goes the next time around.

Get your hands dirty and have fun!.. Blondie 🙂

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Zucchini Koftas in Creamy Tomato Sauce

Zucchini Koftas in Creamy Tomato Sauce is an insanely moresih kofta recipe – it really is hard to stop eating these deep fried zucchini balls. The recipe does call for the zucchini koftas to warm in the sauce but when I do it again I will serve the sauce on the side (or underneath) the kofta balls so I keep the texture of the balls, which soften when sitting in the sauce.

This meal is also kid friendly – there is chilli in it so just remove or reduce it if they aren’t a fan of heat, but they will most certainly love the zucchini balls.

TIP: since the koftas really need to be eaten immediately (they go a little soggy otherwise, but still tasty) turn the leftovers into sausage rolls – these are absolutely stunning! Mix the balls and remaining sauce together with some paneer or ricotta and roll up in puff pastry. This way you get the texture and the flavour just in a different form.

My household is still going strong with our 3-4 days worth of vegetarian days a week and it’s been really exciting coming up with recipes to excite and engage… this one is no exception as it has the naughtiness of deep fried food and the lushness of the creamy tomato curry sauce. I have also included a recipe for Paneer Parathas, which are an Indian stuffed bread, just perfect for dunking into the sauce.

Happy dunking!

Blondie 🙂

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Wild Mushroom Tarte Tatin with Taleggio and Vino Cotto Drizzle

Wild Mushroom Tarte Tatin with Taleggio and Vino Cotto Drizzle… With Mother’s Day only a month away, I thought I would put up a recipe that would surely bowl her over, especially if you turn up with a bottle of bubbly to go along with it – it would certainly put a smile on my face!

I have used Pine Mushrooms aka Saffron mIlk Cap Mushrooms because the colour is so vibrant and they still retain a firm texture (and I have a ton from our last mushrooming venture!) but if you are having trouble getting a hold of them you could use a Swiss brown and button mushroom mix.

The Vino Cotto adds a gorgeous sweetness to the earthy mushrooms and the melted Taleggio is to die for. Each crispy bite is heaven!

This is such an adaptable dish for whatever the occasion is as you can make a large version to share around a table, or individual tarts that can be served with a little salad on the side as an entree or even as finger food, made in little muffin tins to pass around at parties – and everyone is going to love them!

Happy Mother’s Day! Blondie

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Mini Spinach and Ricotta Tarts

Mini Spinach and Ricotta Tarts… These are a tasty mini tart that everyone will love at your next party… made even more special if you make your own ricotta cheese for it.

Light and fluffy, as finger food nothing beats cheese and spinach!

Eat up! Blondie

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Cherry and Lemon Ricotta Puffs aka Fritters

Cherry and Lemon Ricotta Puffs aka Fritters… These are an Italian-esk dessert, I would never go as far as to say these are a true Italian recipe.

I had a ‘test kitchen’ day about a month ago, lots of ricotta and lots of cherries to come up with recipes for. I eventually came up with 12 different cherry recipe ideas but really liked the idea of deep fried puffs (the other 11 are put aside for later)

This recipe is based on the Italian version of the Baci Di Ricotta; aside from adding fruit to the recipe, the consistency is much different. My version still has the ricotta as the feature whereas the Italian version can be almost a dough that comes out similar to a doughnut.

These are extremely moreish so don’t be afraid of making more than you think you will need!

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” – Virginia Woolf

Enjoy, Blondie

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Homemade Ricotta Recipe

Homemade Ricotta Recipe… There are so many gorgeous recipes using ricotta that I have decided to make my own for the first time.

Here are a few tips when making your ricotta…

Tip 1: You can make ricotta using just milk but the more cream you add the creamier it will be. You can get it to a consistency of mascarpone cheese if you add enough cream.

Tip 2: There really isn’t a need to use a thermometer, you can go by sight. When it starts to foam at the top then it’s ready to add the vinegar.

Tip 3: The longer you let the whey drain from the curds the firmer and drier the ricotta will be.

Tip 4: If you are using this ricotta for a dessert then omit the salt

Tip 5: Enjoy the process… it’s such a joy to do something that has been done for an eternity – a very simple pleasure

Cheers, Blondie!

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Basil Pesto with Cashew Nuts

Basil Pesto with Cashew Nuts – With spring now here, the heady scent of fresh herbs is hard to ignore. It’s impossible to walk pass the veggie shop and not grab a bunch of basil – I will have fresh basil growing in my garden again shortly, but till then I’m happy to pay for it.

Pesto is eaten in large amounts by my family, especially my son who has it on pizza, pasta or just by the spoonful after I’ve made a fresh batch of pesto. I make it 2 ways, the first being the obvious – that’s with pine nuts and a nice bitey, hard cheese – and the second is this recipe.

I find that using cashews makes the pesto a little creamier and the flavour to be a little more subtle – and they are also cheaper than pine nuts, which is a benefit if working within a budget.

The cheese in this recipe is just the grated Parmesan from your local supermarket’s fridge section.

I freeze my excess pesto in zip lock bags and break off chunks as I need them, which means I generally always have some on hand. I have been doing it this way for years and have never had an issue, but feel that I should bring up a conversation I had with my brother-in-law. He mentioned something about the breeding of the botulism bacteria, something to do with the basil and the freezer not being able to freeze it to a temperature that is safe and stable. I have also looked into it and am happy to continue with this way of storing as we really do go through it quite fast. I’ve happily eaten my pesto up to 2 months of it being frozen.

Has anyone had problems with freezing pesto? I would love to know.

But that being said, for me there is always a meal if you have pesto in the house. If you have yet to make fresh pesto for yourself then I urge you to give it a go.

Enjoy!

Blondie

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