Food maxims are great aren’t they? Okay, may be not but I couldn’t think of anything else to call this except Zucchini and Fennel Quiche and that’s hardly original either so take it or leave it.

Originally I was going to make this for lunch but when I realised it was already midday it turned into a dinner instead and I’m sorry it’s another zucchini recipe but they’re in season.

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Tags:Quiche, Zucchini, Fennel, Eggs, Baked, Recipe, Picnic

Without a fridge for a day or two I had to think of some things that I could make pretty easily and since it was a hot day I wanted something cold. Typical, you want cold food the day you can’t chill anything.

I ended up with a pasta salad, a quick trip to The Deli for some pancetta and everything was go. Straight forward and only taking 15 minutes I had dinner. Coming into summer it’s great the next day for a picnic once the flavours have mingled even more.

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Tags:Recipe, Pasta, Penne, Asparagus, Beans, Pancetta, Fetta, Cheese, Picnic

Now that’s a taste sensation if ever I’ve had one. This mango ice cream, since it’s made with not much more than fresh mango is better than any you’ll find at the supermarket but that’s got nothing on the black pepper ice cream.

Yeah, black pepper. Ice cream. It’s strangely sweet too, even if it leaves your lips tingling. Give it a go, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the subtle fruitiness that pepper actually has. Of course, you can always tone down the amount of pepper in the recipe, or if you want, sift out the powder and just use the larger cracked pieces, I didn’t and as such the ice cream looks decidedly chocolate.

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Tags:Dairy, Ice Cream, Mango, Pepper

To follow up the four hour roast beef that I made for the dinner with my friends on Tuesday I figured I’d go for something quick and easy for me that I could pretty much make ahead of time. The brioche can be cut and buttered and left covered until it’s time to go in the oven, the custard can be too. It only takes 10 minutes to make the toffy which you’ll have while you wait for the pudding to cool slightly anyway.

This was meant to just have cherries in it but I forgot to get them that day so I rummaged around the the cupboard and cheated a little with a packet of Whisk & Pin dried fruit compote that was mostly figs which I love so hey, figs it was! They worked really well if I do say so myself.

Brioche Pudding with Dried Figs

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Tags:Dessert, Brioche, Bread, Recipe, Figs, Fruit, Dried Fruit

With plenty of leftovers from last night’s dinner and some cannelloni tubes in the cupboard that I’ve been trying to find an excuse to use up for god knows how long (I’m sure I’ve moved house with them at least twice). Its a pretty straight-forward recipe, the hardest part is the béchamel, but if that’s a little much you can buy it from the fresh pasta section of your supermarket usually.

It also gave me a chance to break out the Multix piping bags I picked up ages ago. They worked a treat. If you don’t have use for a professional piping bag I’d highly recommend them even thought there are only 5 bags in a pack.

Ricotta and Zucchini Cannelloni with Brie Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

Ricotta and Zucchini Cannelloni with Brie Stuffed Zucchini Flowers - Serves 2
2 Zucchinis
250 grams of ricotta
Salt and Pepper
12 cannelloni tubes
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of flower
1 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
20 grams of gorgonzola
50 grams of grated parmesan
½ cup of tomato based pasta sauce
100 grams of mozzarella
4 zucchini flowers
50 grams of brie
1 egg, beaten
½ cup of breadcrumbs
Sunflower oil for frying the zucchini flowers

Heat oven to 170ºC. Grate the zucchini and press out as much of the liquid as possible. Mix it in with the ricotta and add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into the piping bag and fill the cannelloni. Place into an oven tray that will hold them without too much extra space. I ended up using a bread tin.

In a saucepan, melt the butter until bubbling then add the flower. Whisk for about 10 minutes so that the gluten cooks and the flour doesn’t catch on the pan and burn. Slowly add the milk in about tablespoons until a paste forms. Add the remaining milk and whisk to smooth. Add the nutmeg and cheeses and stir until melted. Spread evenly over the cannelloni. Pour over the tomato pasta sauce and then grate the mozzarella over the top. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the cheese has browned. Take out and allow to cool slightly.

Heat the sunflower oil to 200ºC. Cut the brie into four cubes and stuff inside the zucchini flowers. Dip the flowers into the beaten egg and then into the breadcrumbs. Fry until golden and serve.

Tags:Recipe, Zucchini, Mozarella, Zucchini Flowers, Cannelloni, Pasta, Parmesan, Gorgonzola

I’ve never cooked raw artichokes before, I’ve always used marinated hearts so this was a bit of a learning experience. I always knew that they were quite wasteful, only a quarter or less of it is actually edible. You cant eat the stalk, all of the outer leaves and the centre is full of choke which is this fluff that has to be carefully scooped out before it’s cooked or eaten because it will make you choke (hence the name) So all you are left with are the bottom half of the inner leaves and with the centre missing. Not only that but it will go black almost as soon as you cut into it so you’ve got to stop the oxidation with either lemon juice or some acidulated water (a bit of vinegar in water). Going through all of that is almost not worth the effort if it wasn’t so tasty. Its sort of like eggplant but with a firm texture.

I made a couple of zucchini flowers to go with it. They were pretty nice but next time I’ll make a lighter batter or crumb them.

Stuffed Artichoke & Zucchini Flowers

Stuffed Artichoke & Zucchini Flowers - Serves 2

Artichokes:
2 globe artichokes
¼ cup of vinegar
2 cups of cold water
1 cup of bread crumbs
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley
lemon zest from one lemon
2 anchovy filets
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon of olive oil

Zucchini Flowers:
4 zucchini flowers
1 tablespoon of ricotta
2 anchovy filets
Salt and pepper
1 cup of flour
¼ cup of ice water
Sunflower oil for frying

Pre-heat your oven to 160ºC. In a bowl, mix the vinegar and water and put aside.

Cut the stems of the artichokes, pull off the outer leaves until the softer inner leaves are visible and slice off the top half of the globe, just above the widest point. Dip the artichokes in the water to stop them from blackening. Open up the inner leaves of the artichoke and using a teaspoon, scoop out the fluffy choke, making sure you get all of it. Once done, put the artichoke back into the water until ready to bake.

Mash the anchovy filets and mix in the breadcrumbs, parsley, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Stuff the centre of the artichokes with the mix and press the remaining mix in between the leaves. Place on an oven try and bake for 45 min to an hour.

For the zucchini flowers, mix the anchovy and ricotta together and season with salt and pepper. Gently open the flower and stuff the cheese mix inside, being careful not to over fill it. The yellow/orange parts of the petals should be able to be twisted around the filling to close it in.

When the artichokes are ready, heat enough oil in a saucepan so that it will cover the flowers when they’re fried. Mix the flour and ice water together, dip a flower into the batter so it’s lightly covered then fry until just turning golden. Drain on paper towel and repeat with the other flowers. Serve immediately.

Tags:Artichoke, Zucchini, Zucchini Flowers, Ricotta, Cheese, Recipe, Bread

Something pretty simple I know, but with the aim of showing you all what I eat, and more importantly make myself I thought I’d share anyway. Sometimes I’ve found that just seeing something as simple as this really sparks the imagination and the taste buds so try this with either a single type of berry if you want it to compliment a particular meal.

Even better, it is very easy to make, can be made days in advance and you’ve probably got everything in the cupboard anyway.

Mixed Berry Jellies and Vanilla Ice Cream - Serves 4
1 packet of flavoured jelly crystals (any berry or even port-wine)
1 packet of frozen berries, thawed (any, or a mix)
Ice Cream

Make jelly as per packet instructions. Put in fridge and chill for an hour and a half or until the mix is quite thick but not set. Stir in berries.

If the berries do sink to the bottom before it sets, or you forget the jelly in the fridge before adding them place the moulds in a sink and add hot water until it comes half way up the sides. The jelly will soften enough so you can add the berries or stir them through again.

Leave to set then serve with ice cream.

Tags:Berry, Raspberry, Blueberries, Blackberries, Canberries, Strawberry, Dessert, Jelly, Gelatin, Ice Cream, Vanilla, Recipe

Have you ever had one of those moments when you’ve heard a new word two or three times in a week then find yourself using it? Somehow, the arse that hosts Ready Steady Cook taught me the word ‘paupiette’ which is a piece of meat with a pocket sliced into it and then stuffed prior to cooking. I’ve made similar things many times before but I never realised that was a word for it.

So when I had some bacon, camembert and a chicken breast handy a chicken paupiette was called forth.

Chicken Paupiette of Bacon and Camembert

Chicken stuffed with Bacon and Camembert - Serves 2
2 Chicken breasts
4 Rashers of bacon
250g of Camembert, sliced
Salad leaves to serve

Slice a pocket into the thickest parts of the chicken breasts trying to make each pocket as big as possible but not to cutting through to the other side. Lightly hammer out the chicken to as thin as possible without breaking apart the chicken.

Stuff the pocket with half of the cheese and a rasher of bacon then slowly pan fry until the chicken is cooked through and browned on the outside along side the two spare rashers of bacon.

Slice the chicken in half and lay over salad leaves with the extra pieces of bacon.

Tags:Cheese, Chicken, Recipe, Bacon, Frying, Camembert

I had to go back to Sydney early from my New Zealand trip so I can sit an exam and since I hadn’t had any luck finding the quite space I needed to read the text books I’d lugged around with me thus far I booked myself two days in Harbour View room at the Hilton Auckland (I got a good deal at wotif). The hotel itself is smaller than I thought and felt cramped every time I walked through the lobby but the rest of the hotel is quite spacious. The room I was in had a very large marble bathroom with separate bath and shower, the rest of the room contained a king size bed, 32” LCD TV and DVD player and a desk. Then there was the balcony - the same size as the room itself! The only complaint with it is that even though there are double sliding doors opening on to it, there was a concrete pillar in the middle of them making getting outside a little awkward and blocked the view from inside.

I hadn’t had breakfast that morning so once I settled into the room, opened all the draws and flicked all the light switches I had a look at the room service menu. There was all of the standard fare you get at the Hilton plus the specialised items from the hotels restaurant. I ordered the Nasi Goreng, just a light meal. Presented well, the rice moulded in a bowl and turned out into the plate with a fried egg across the top, tomato and cucumber slices fanned around the edge and individual bowls of chili paste, soy and dried fish so they could all be added to taste, a single large prawn cracker and three small chicken satay skewers to the side. Flavour wise it was more subtle than I’m used to, all of the flavours were balanced so it was a clearly deliberate choice and it certainly wasn’t bland per se but I could see a lot of people thinking it was.

The second night I stayed I went to White, the hotel’s restaurant with Italian chef Cristiano De Martin running the show. You can see his European training and years of dedicated practice in the way every dish was executed, starting with the produce then preparation and cooking then finally the presentation. De Martin’s dedication to his food extends to joint venture called Homegrown with NZ primary producers to source the best ingredients. I can’t see any losers here, especially as I get presented with my first course.

Starting off with Heart of the Desert saffron infused carrot soup with parsley foam it’s not surprising De Martin highlights one of his Homegrown partners in Heart of the Desert saffron. Who knew that NZ can grow it given 90% of the world production is from Iran? The soup itself was good blending the more complex earthier kiwi saffron standing up against fresh sweet carrots. The parsley foam was wispy and delicate adding a level of texture and evening out the parsley flavour so that no mouthful could ever be overpowed with a herb than can taste like grass if you get a mouthful of it unexpectedly.

Contrasting the soup’s delicate flavour profile is the Northland kingfish carpaccio, spiced shallots with citrus and sesame dressing and mini coriander leaves hitting you with an incredible burst starting out with the lime that is made palatable with the shallots, coriander and sesame on the finish. Without any one of these the dish wouldn’t balance but here all of the flavours are inline leaving you with the amazingly fresh kingfish carpaccio. The mouthfeel of the slightly oily kingfish sliced paper thin and served raw as it melds itself with the rest of the flavours creating one of those moments you sit up and pay attention to what you’re eating.

I love duck and I eat it quite often but until now I hadn’t actually had the chance to make or try tea smoked duck. I made tea smoked snapper a few weeks ago as a trial before I give it ago on duck. Now I’ve got a gold standard to aim for. A salad of tea smoked duck resting on crisp filo pastry, pistachio, celery and grapes with a blueberry and riesling verjus dressing was a familiar yet different taste. Smoking the duck adds a soft undertone to each bite that while you can tell it is there, at no point does it distract you from the duck itself or any other ingredient. Pistachio as a nut has an odd flavour that wouldn’t have worked if the duck wasn’t smoked. A lesser chef would have either used hazelnut that I think would have enhanced the smoke and overpowered the rest of the salad or blanched almods simply for texture. The filo pastry was disappointing, it seemed more like a layer of cardboard where I was expecting the salad to be perched on top of individual layers of delicate filo. Did you notice something missing in the picture? When I was served the dish I thought it was odd but there isn’t a black/purple drizzle across the top. I’m not sure how they did it, but blueberry skin wasn’t in the ingredient list for the dressing so it’s is perfectly clear. The two black half circles are grapes.

Scallops are tender pillows of shellfish that have a sweeter meat than crayfish. Their intense flavour, despite that they’re physically delicate, means they can carry other strong flavours and De Martin picked almost a surf and turf with Spirits Bay scallops seared with crispy pancetta, apple pureé and a snow pea salad with cabernet sauvignon vinegar glaze. Even before the plate lands you can smell the pancetta and the bacon instinct kicks in and your nose is in the air trying to breathe it all in. The pancetta releases so much of it’s flavour as it’s friend in the pan next to the scallops that they seem to soak it up like a sponge. The drizzle of glaze on the plate was incredibly intense and perfect for cutting through the pancetta’s fat so you can reclaim the scallop’s individuality.

The Assistant Manager (who did an amazing job all night) disagreed with the chef on his choice of wine for a number of dishes and I either saw her point or agreed completely. This time I only saw her point. She gave me some of the listed wine, a Cloudy Bay ‘08 Sauvignon Blanc, and the wine she thought was best, a Brancott ‘07 Sauvignon Blanc, both from the Malborough. I’m sorry to say I wouldn’t have said either were a perfect match but then I can’t say what would have been either. The Cloudy Bay was good at balancing the glaze and pancetta but destroyed the apple and scallop where as the Brancott was obliterated by the fat. Given the focus of this dish was scallops, not pancetta I’d have erred on the side of caution and taken the Bancott as the manager suggested.

A Kaffir Lime sorbet broke the meal. It tasted like the only possible way you could have that much lime flavour in a that glass was if someone froze and blended the lime itself. It had such a fresh taste to it, probably enhanced by the fact it was frozen, but it could have easily been the smell of a fresh picked lime. My guess is it was probably oil from the skin being sprayed in to and incorporated with the mix.






The headline of the show for an international hotel in NZ was of course the Hawke’s Bay lamb loin roasted with garden herbs, parsnip créme and crisps, manuka smoked olives, lemon and Te Arai Extra Virgin emulsion. The lamb was cooked a touch longer than I’d have liked but within tolerances for medium-rare so it did benefit from the olive oil and parsnip mash for moistness. That’s not to say it wasn’t full of flavour; I’d say the kiwi’s have made a good go at it. Infact given the better farming and grazing weather in NZ for the past few years, their lambs might just be better than the Australians. For now. Picking up some of the smoked olives with the lamb made for a nice way to extend the otherwise limited range of flavours on the plate, the parsnips and olive oil seemed to take on a new life. Half way through I’d ran out and wished there were more, olives, not parsnip.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get the names of the two cheeses served on this course but they seemed along the lines of a mature cheddar and a firmer white mould cheese along the lines of a costello perhaps? As I was dining alone, I think I received a hastily cut down portion. There was just simply not enough cheese to try all of the condiments with at least one cheese, there weren’t even enough wafers. Still, it was nice for a course designed to transition your palette from red meat to dessert.




Of course, at the end of any meal you can’t go past dessert and what a dessert. The menu called for a chef’s selection and I don’t think there was anything left he hadn’t selected. When this course came up I was offered an extra glass of wine because there had been ‘an issue’ in the kitchen and I would have to wait an extra 10 minutes or so. What I think it was is that they couldn’t figure out how to present a dessert platter that’s designed for two people to a single person when most of the items are either slivers anyway or single units. Half a scoop of ice-cream anyone? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that if there were two people that I would have been disappointed with the portion size, there are four separate desserts for heavens sake but to cut them down further would have been unsightly. Which is why I got a dessert platter for two! It goes without saying that every single one of these desserts were delicious and flavour packed. No surprises in the taste, they were almost concentrated in their own flavour. So clockwise from the back we’ve got an apple galette topped with vanilla ice cream, vanilla panna-cotta with raspberry compote, lemon cheesecake, dark chocolate hazelnut torte with a scoop of hazelnut ice-cream.


I ordered an espresso to go with the petit four which was basically a sphere of pear and cream that finished the meal as I sat and waited for it to move itself below my centre of gravity and chatted to an Australian couple that also had the degustation whom asked me how I enjoyed it and gave them my Red Whisk business card so they can come and look at the pictures. My sincerest apologies have to go to them for the delay in posting this article.

All in all, I really quite enjoyed visiting (and not as their guest, this was fully funded by The Red Whisk). Next time I visit Auckland I’m going to have to stay at the Hilton again. As far as international standards go the Hilton here is above the average. Sure there are some things that could be done better but they’re probably not going to be picked up or worried over by your average consumer. As for the restaurant, the service of the assistant manager scored herself a very generous tip for her friendly yet professional service keeping the person dining alone who didn’t bring a book to read company, her generosity in pouring wine and offering not only and alternative to the listed wines, but both!



Hilton Auckland and White Restaurant
Princess Wharf. 147 Quay Street
Auckland. 1010
NEW ZEALAND

Tags:Degustation, Hilton, Auckland, New Zealand, Review, Restaurant, Wine, Fish, Soup, Scallops, Duck, Dessert

Stopping at The Deli in Erskineville, more to check out the cute guy that works there than anything, I floated around infront of the shelves until I spotted something I could justify buying to myself. Eventually I spotted a range of muslies from a little company called ilseum. 350 gram zip lock upright bags of a few different styles of muslie and a porridge made from all organic Australian ingredients. All approx $10 a pack.

ilesum Porridge

I asked the hot guy what it was like and he said he’d not tried the porridge yet but likes the ‘sweetly toasted’ variation of muslie - slow roasted oats, almonds, saltanas and honey.

The porridge is quite nice, surprisingly light in flavour for something that’s traditionally seen as very heavy. It’s probably got something to do with the great variety of fruit mixed in with currants, granny smith apples, cavendish bananas, nectarines, mini golden raisins, saultanas and peaches. Having said that though, it was a little light on the fruit for what I was expecting. It still needed a bit of cinnamon across the top and a bit of added sugar or honey across the top.

Tags:Porridge, Breakfast, Dried Fruit, Mueslie, Erskineville

This past weekend I went to Perth for the birthdays of several members of my family (including my own). I booked my flights last minute and had to end up flying via Melbourne and damn the food was sub standard, even for airline food but more so for business class.

On the flight to Melbourne I had a steak sandwich that had rock hard bread and piping hot steak and what were meant to be fried onions and rocket. Simply awful. The flight to Perth was great, I sat next to a really great woman named Michelle and we chatted the whole flight over. Again the food was quite awful, I had a barramundi with an unidentifiable brown mush spread across the top of it. I took pictures of both of these but they really aren't worth publishing. The bonus was the small tub of Maggie Beer's Passionfruit Ice Cream and dessert wine (Noble One I think). Damn it was nice. Almost as good as the leg room on the upper deck of a 747-300. I stretched out and couldn't touch the seat in-front of me with my feet.

Maggie Beer's Passionfruit Ice Cream

The flight home was a long red-eye on the lower deck with considerably less leg room. The food was better but not by much. The cabin lights were ambient, so the picture is sort of funky. James Morrison was sitting a few rows in-front of me.

Business Class Supper on Qantas Under Ambient Light

Tags:Qantas, Business Classs, Ice Cream, Dairy, Maggie Beer, Perth

Tonight I made a quick and easy prawn curry for dinner, loosely based on Dinner Tonight's Curried Shrimp which in turn is from Martha Stewart. It was quite nice but turned out completely different to what I'd planned. The sauce was really more like a butter chicken sauce than anything. I also made up the spice blend and just used what I had at hand.

Steaming Hot Prawn Curry

Prawn Curry - Serves 4
1 teaspoon of Celery Seeds
1 teaspoon of whole Allspice
1 teaspoon of Cumin Seeds
1 teaspoon of dry Curry Powder
1 Red Chilli, finely diced
2 Garlic Cloves, finely diced
1 Onion, sliced
2 Tablespoons of Tomato Paste
2 Tomatoes, diced
Assorted Vegetables (I used carrot, golden squash and broccoli)
300mL of Sour Cream
500g of Green Prawns
Basmati Rice
Lime Wedge (optional)


Dry roast the spices in a large frying pan or wok until fragrant then grind in a mortar and pestle.

In the same frying pan, add a dash of oil and fry off the chili, garlic and onion until the onion is translucent. Add the spices and fry for a few minutes until you can smell them clearly. Add the tomato paste, vegetables and sour cream and simmer until the vegetables are soft.

Add the prawns and cook until pink but still tender.

Serve over basmati rice with a lime wedge on the side.

Tags:Curry, Seafood, Prawns, Vegetables, Rice

Tonight saw me leave work at 7pm instead of my usual 5:15, meaning I couldn't be arsed cooking anything that involved more than 45 seconds worth of work. Enter Oeufs En Cototte. Nigella's introduction to the dish explains how her mother used to cook it for her as a child and is one she enjoys as a simple comfort food, and I have to agree. There is something about it that just seemed to calm me after a long stressful day at work. It was probably the simplicity coupled with the richness of an egg yoke and cream. It could have been the smoked salmon I added though!

Given I was making this for dinner, and that I don't own any ramekins, I made a fairly large one and it was just about the right size for a meal in itself, for a start her suggestion 1 egg per person would have been perfect. Come to think of it now, it would have been nifty in my espresso cups with some steamed asparagus.

Tags:Bread, Toast, Breakfast, Eggs, Nigella, Nigella Express, Nigella Lawson, Salmon, Smoked Salmon

Recently I had a bit of bad week, I won't get in to it but the gist is that I had to start cooking for one again... So to cheer myself up I threw caution to the wind and booked myself into a 'Relaxation Suite' in the Hilton Sydney and bought a bottle of Bombay Sapphire to keep me company. The room was brilliant, particularly the enormous bed and the double spa bath with floor to ceiling window and a 26" LCD screen!

But this is a food blog.



Since I was in a suite I had access to the club lounge and complimentary pre-dinner drinks and canapes. Free gin always gets thumbs up as far as I'm concerned, but I'd need more than the couple I had to distract from what they tried to pass off as food. There wasn't anything you wouldn't have found in the freezer section of your local supermarket and with absolutely no attempt at masking that it came from one. I held higher hopes for the room service I was going to order later.

A quick call to room service after the stodge in the club lounge I'd ordered a cheese platter. For about $20 it was a lot better than I expected, the standard cheeses, blue, camembert and cheddar were accounted for along with a good selection of bready things to put the cheese on, wafers, grissini sticks and a few others. What made this so nice were the quality accoutrements. Fresh strawberries, dried apricots, muscatels and dried figs! My favorite.

As for the main meal, we'll get to that next.

Tags:Room Service, Hilton, Review, Cheese, Canapes, Travel

Over the last few years I’ve developed a fascination with duck, starting off with an introduction to Peking Duck by a good friend. We started on a quest to discover the best duck dish in Sydney. We’ve run through several restaurants in Chinatown and further a field, the now defunct XO on Crown Street, where the duck was tea-smoked. It was a wonderful taste and one I’d like to replicate in a future post once I get the equipment and time to be able to do it. Also on Crown Street, you can’t go past the Duck in Plum Sauce and Billy Kwong’s. I’ve gone back a couple of times now to try it again. I really should buy her book and make it myself.

I’ve since made a few duck dishes at home, including a pepper crusted duck breast with a fresh blueberry sauce with kipfler potatoes wich was wonderful, however the last attempt was duck confit. I’d never had it before, let alone made it. Wow. Sure it takes two days from start to finish but the results are amazing. Besides, it’s only an hour of actual work.

The walnut, pear and Gorgonzola salad I made with the confit was even better, possibly even a contender for the best duck dish in Sydney, if I do say so myself.

Tags:Cheese, Duck, Pear, Walnuts, Gorgonzola, Salad, Confit

I thought I might start off The Red Whisk, with something that almost can’t get any better and I feel akin to and not just because it’s simple and tasty either…

Grilled to perfection on a slice of kalamata olive sourdough with thyme and jarlsberg seasoned lightly with a twist of fresh ground black pepper and sea salt it’s about as good as I’ve ever had cheese on toast. The creamy soft and slightly sweet cheese is well balanced with the sourdough and the saltiness of its olives, with the thyme giving it a beautiful yet subtle aroma.

Cheese on toast was one of the first things I was allowed to make unsupervised as a child; albeit not as nice in retrospect as the picture above. My first attempts usually involved a piece of toasted white bread and a plastic-yellow cheese single, grilled until the surface puffed up into a little pillow and all of the actual (ahem) cheese was gooey inside. Of course you could never wait for it to cool down enough and you’d bite into it and get a mouthful of molten cheese so there was always a sense of danger about it all really.

Depending on the shape and how you cut your sourdough you can end up with nice long slices or shorter ones like these, depending on how much you want as your snack. From there, lightly toast the bread on both sides then top with enough jarlsberg to completely cover the bread in a thin layer. Pick some fresh thyme leaves and scatter over the cheese along with some ground black pepper and salt. Grill until the cheese has slightly melted. Wait a moment to cool, unless you live dangerously, slice, and enjoy with a good book.

Optional of course, feel free to add some more flavour under the cheese. Some honey ham to compliment the mild-sweet of the jarlsberg or perhaps some baby spinach to add some green.

Tags:Cheese, Bread, Herbs, Grill