Three Cheese Dainties - the photos

 

here they are, double egg washed, edged

and sprinkled, ready to bake or chill if you prefer

note the “dessert fork” edging

fresh from the oven!

bagged and tagged – you can give them away

if you want to show off – or may be keep and eat?

It's good to have recipes up your sleeve for a rainy day – you can never have enough!

Three Cheese Dainties

This recipe might be a tad late for the holidays – I include it because these dainties really are yummy - perfect for a snack or part of a “picky bits” supper any time!

Three Cheese dainties

100g mature Cheddar, 75g Red Leicester

and 75g Gruyere, grated

1 large onion, finely chopped

drop of rapeseed oil

2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

celery salt and black pepper

1tbsp of Dijon mustard

1 x 320g puff pastry sheet

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp Nigella seeds

Pre-heat oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6

Use a medium sized saucepan, heat the oil and then add the onion and sweat on a low heat for 5 minutes until softened. This element can be prepped ahead, cooled, boxed and fridged until required.

Unroll your pastry sheet on a board or work surface – don't remove the pastry from the paper liner – it's perfect for your baking sheet for cutting out, filling and then lifting on to your tray and baking. No mess! The sheet will give you 15 circles using an 8cms/3” cutter. You may need to re-roll the pastry for the final 3.

Add the cheeses, seasoning, mustard and parsley to the onion. Place a teaspoon of filling in the centre of each circle, edge half the circle with the beaten egg, then fold to create your dainty, use a dessert fork to edge the dainty then egg wash. Use two teaspoons to form the filling, it helps to keep it firm and easy to place. Make a mental note where you begin to egg wash, leave for a couple of minutes, then repeat. Place the tray of dainties in the fridge until required.

Sprinkle with Nigella seeds and then bake for 20 minutes – check after 15, until golden brown.

A word of warning … it's very difficult not to consume these when taken out of the oven – you might want to plan another batch!

If you want to make ahead, having double egg washed and fridged, you can then freeze them on the tray until frozen and then bag, ready for when required. At least that way you won't be able to eat them all!

Here's a photo or three ...

Now for some festive savoury stuff!

It might seem an odd contribution to the Christmas menu - all I can say is that if ever I'm asked to cook or bake for a gathering cheese scones are top of the list. However I must be getting something right when the range of M&S Party Food includes “Extra Mature Barber's Cheese & Ham Scones”!

This recipe works for me and my family and friends :

Cheese Scones

500g plain flour (1lb 2oz)

1 tsp salt

2 tsps bicarb

4½ tsps cream of tartar

125g (5oz) unsalted butter

75g (3oz) mature Cheddar cheese, grated

300ml milk

1 large egg, beaten

6.5cms/2½” fluted cutter

flour on the side to dip the cutter

Pre-heat oven 200fan/220c/Gas 7

Sift the flour, salt, bicarb and cream of tartar into a large mixing bowl. Rub in the butter until you've got breadcrumbs, add the grated cheese then add the milk – all of it – mix with a round bladed knife, roughly and then tip onto a floured surface and knead lightly so that you have a dough. It should be 3cms/1¼” thick. Remember to dip your cutter into the flour before cutting.

How many scones you get depends on the size of the cutter you use – using a 6.5cms/2½” fluted cutter you'll get 12 – they are huge. If you're intending to use as part of a Christmas Box/Brown paper package then you might want to consider using a smaller cutter – scaled down they'll look neater when bagged and tagged to go in your Box! 5/2” or 6cms/2¼” approx would be perfect.

Place on a baking sheet, dusted with flour, then brush with beaten egg. Bake for 10 minutes – risen and golden brown.

Give your family and friends what they love - not what the season dictates - a person can only suffer so many boxes of dates or the orange and lemon slices from yesteryear.

Hmm, perhaps a little festive relish to go with?

An alternative Pastizzi!

 

Three Cheese Pastizzi

If you don't want to go to the trouble of making the Pea Pastizzi, there's a simpler Three Cheese Pastizzi version – here it is :

Three Cheese Pastizzi

for 20 pastries

2 x 320g puff pastry sheets – 10 per sheet

10cm/4” cutter

300g/12oz ricotta cheese

70g/2oz grated Mozzarella

40g/1oz Parmesan, finely grated

½ tsp of Dijon mustard

celery salt and black pepper

1 egg, beaten – half to add to the mixture

half to seal and egg wash

Mash the ricotta in a medium mixing bowl until it's smooth – use a fork. Season with the mustard, salt and black pepper, stir and add half the beaten egg – mix well. Cover and fridge until ready for use.

Take your sheets out of the fridge and allow them to warm up – you'll get a cracked and split sheet if you try to unroll straight away.

Roll out the sheet – initially you should get six circles – gather the remnants and re-roll for a further four.

Place a level tablespoon of mixture in the middle of each circle. Brush half the circle with the beaten egg and fold up to seal. Edge the seal with a pastry fork and then egg wash.

Pre-heat your oven 200fan/220c/Gas 7.

Bake the pastizzi for 20 minutes.

If you'd prefer to make ahead and freeze, place the uncooked pastizzi on a tray lined with baking paper. Freeze for 2/3 hours or until firm and then transfer to a strong freezer bag – store for up to a month.

To cook – Pre-heat your oven as above. Flour two baking trays and place the frozen pastizzi, egg wash and then bake for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

The method of assembly is exactly as for the pea pastizzi so I'm not going to repeat it. Photos of the mixture et al that you haven't seen are up next.

The Tart - a plan, the prep and a photo or three!

The plan is to make the pastry case in the middle of the week when I have time and then wrap and freeze. I can promise you that this pastry recipe is the easiest you'll make and is very kind – by that I mean that you have to work very hard indeed to make a mess of it!

I'll weigh out the cheeses, they can all go into the same bag and then fridge, ready to add the remainder of the filling. The onions can be softened, boxed and fridged, ready to use.

On the morning, combine the filling ingredients, take your pastry case from the freezer, add the filling, cover and fridge until you're ready to bake. To serve your tart warm you need to bake it for 40 minutes and allow for resting, so you need to work backwards from when you're expecting your guests to arrive. If all else fails set your kitchen timer, just in case you get sidetracked!

Here's the pastry case

Here it is again, wrapped ready to freeze

Hey presto – the freshly baked tart!

Another yummy summer idea!

Here's another example of a lid-free “pie” …

 … a tart! It doesn't need a lid – the wholemeal pastry on the bottom and the richness of the filling are enough.

This is a great addition to your summer repertoire and not a sign of that eggy consistency that you get with quiches.

I don't normally “blow my own trumpet” but on this occasion I will – if you're a cheese lover it'll be right up your alley!

Here's the recipe :

Three Cheese Tart

The pastry case

8oz/225g Wholemeal Flour

4oz/110g unsalted butter – sliced, cubed or grated

Pinch of baking powder

Ice cold water to bind

The filling

2 medium onions, chopped

knob of butter, drop of rapeseed oil

12oz/350g grated cheese, 4oz/110g each mature

cheddar, Red Leicester and Gruyere

1 egg, beaten to bind

Black pepper

ice cold water to bind

Grease and line a 9”/22cm dish or spring clip tin. Cling film to wrap.

For the pastry case, use a food processor if you have one, pop in the flour, baking powder and butter and blitz until breadcrumbs. Add a drop of ice cold water and pulse until the pastry comes together - do not over do it. Tip the pastry out onto a sheet of cling film, using the film gather the pastry together into a ball and fridge for 30 mins.

Soften the chopped onions in the butter and rapeseed oil.

Add the cheese, onions, black pepper and beaten egg, set aside and fridge until you are ready to roll!

Roll out your pastry and fridge again until you are ready to bake.

Pre-heat your oven to 180fan/200c/Gas 6.

When you are ready to bake put the chilled filling into the chilled pastry and bake for 35/40 minutes until golden.

Leave the tart to cool, ideally serve it warm. If you cut into the tart when straight out of the oven the cheese filling will ooze – you need to leave it to settle – warm is what you want.

This tart is excellent warmed the next day – if you're fortunate enough to have any leftovers!

Coming next a plan and the prep ...

The dish and the “pie” photos

Homity Pie – the dish

I wouldn't normally use a foil pie dish, in the interests of recycling and climate change et al but when I do I re-use them – just a thought!

a dish fit for purpose!

with the pastry lining

and then the filling

cooked and ready to eat!

Perfect with salady bits and pieces for summer ...

When is a pie not a “pie”?

Quite simply a pie is not a “pie” when it doesn't have a pastry lid.

I normally make Homity Pie for special occasions – my recipe serves 12-16 depending on the size of slice! I decided to make the same amount of pastry but scale down the filling – I freeze the remainder for another day – here goes :

Homity Pie – makes 2

Pastry

200g plain wholemeal flour

100g unsalted butter

pinch of baking powder

ice cold water to bind

Rub the butter into the flour and baking powder until it resembles breadcrumbs, then gradually add a glug of water and use and round bladed knife to bring the pastry together.

You can use a processor if you prefer – I'd then tip the pastry directly onto clingfilm and bring it together to form a ball, then wrap and rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Ahead of the game

Bake 3 large jacket potatoes, then cool, peel and dice finely

and place in a large mixing bowl

250g onions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic – finely chopped or roasted

paste

1.5 tbsp rapeseed oil

salt and black pepper

2.5 tbsp of freshly chopped parsley – 1.5 tbsp for the

filling and 1 for the topping – use less if you are

using dried

150g of grated cheese – I use a mixture of mature

Cheddar, Gruyere and Red Leicester – 100g for the

filling and 50g for the topping

Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil, add to the potatoes and season with salt and black pepper. Add the cheese and parsley, mix thoroughly.

Roll out your pastry and line a greased pie dish measuring 18x14x4 cms (7x5½x1½”) .

Tip your potato mixture into the pastry case and pack it down tightly and flat – it will look as if you'll never get all the filling into the case – persevere – you will succeed.

Top with the remaining cheese and parsley.

Bake in a pre-heated oven – 190fan/170c/Gas 7 for 40 minutes – check after 20 minutes.

Next up … the “pie” photos

A pie for summer

Fed up with the same old, same old – here's the thing, I like hot stuff with cold stuff and so the obvious to me is a pie. We still need comfort food in the summer!

It's time for a rummage – in the fridge and the freezer!

I'm sure I've got a shortcrust pastry sheet in the freezer - it's a start. Hmm, the fridge - an odd onion here and the remnants of cheese I've always got in my fridge, yippee, the usual suspects are there - Gruyere, Mature Cheddar and Red Leicester - I think we're getting there, then there's the ever faithful baked jacket potatoes I didn't use. I can feel a pie coming on!

It may be considered as cheating using a ready-made pastry sheet - whether it's with shortcrust or puff. If it's in the freezer then it's a product that's meant to make your life easier and quite frankly both types of sheet are heaven sent when you're in a hurry.

Here's my thrown together recipe :

Rummage Pie – Serves 4

300g grated hard cheese, mixed – whatever

is in your fridge – 125g Mature Cheddar, 125g Red

Leicester and 50g Gruyere

1 medium onion, finely diced and softened

with a knob of unsalted butter until opaque

1 tsp Dijon mustard

4 medium jacked potatoes, baked, peeled and

cut into small cubes

black pepper

1 shortcrust pastry sheet – 320g

1 egg, beaten

Knob of butter for greasing pie dish

To assemble :

Make sure you take your pastry out of the fridge to allow it to “warm up” - you'll find the pastry is easier to use and won't crack. Grease and then line your pie dish with half the sheet – you may need to roll it a little to fit – for guidance my pie dish measured 27x9x5 cms approximately.

Tip the cubed potatoes into a large mixing bowl, season with black pepper. Add the mustard to the softened onion and then mix with the potatoes. Add the grated cheese and your filling is ready for the pie dish. There may seem a lot – pack it firmly – it should be raised above the pie dish before the pastry lid is added. Add your pastry lid, egg wash and fridge until you're ready to bake. Don't discard the beaten egg. Pre-heat your oven 180fan/200c/Gas6, egg wash the pie again and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Note to self – may be add both the shortcrust and the puff pastry sheets to the emergency kit for the freezer?

The bonus here is that this pie equally good served hot or cold with sides of your choice and just think how virtuous you'll feel using up leftovers.

P.s I have it on good authority that for those who are dietarily challenged, Aldi's shortcrust pastry is 99p a box, ready rolled - pretty decent and happens to be vegan. A double whammy - their vegan mature cheese blocks have definitely improved – it melts well compared with the old versions that you tried to melt and just ended up with the texture of wine gums!

Alfredo photo-guide

 

Heat the butter and the cream

together

Add the Parmesan and heaps of

black pepper

The bowl

The bowl with petit pois

I didn't have any fettuccine in my pantry but I did have spaghetti – if you're not fond of “ribbony” types of pasta just choose your favourite.

You can adapt this to a plant based recipe using:

1 tbsp Flora Plant unsalted butter

200ml Elmlea 100% Plant Double Alternative

to cream

50g Parmesan alternative – for example

Violife Parmesan style

The simple things in life are the best.

Now for seasonal strawbs!

The same applies …

… to this recipe as with the last, it's as old as the hills and never fails – even guests who don't “do tuna” hoover these morsels!

Tuna and Parsley rolls

200g/7oz tin tuna in oil

1 onion, chopped

100g/4oz cheddar cheese, grated

2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

salt and black pepper

*1 tsp wholegrain mustard

1 puff pastry sheet

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp poppy or Nigella seeds

Pre-heat oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6

Drain the tuna, reserving 1 tbsp of the oil. Pour the oil into a pan and cook the onion for 5 minutes until softened. Remove from the heat and stir in the tuna, cheese, parsley, seasoning and mustard until well combined. Allow to cool.

Roll out your pastry sheet and cut in half lengthways.

Divide the filling between the two rectangles, laying it in strips down the centre of the pastry.

Brush one edge with beaten egg and carefully roll up to create two long tubes. Cut each into 12 rolls. Brush with egg and place on a baking tray, seam side down. Sprinkle over with poppy or Nigella seeds and bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

*I use Dijon mustard and add a dessertspoon – whichever you prefer.

Yum!

Here's a tip … if you've not already got a “go to” stash of recipes (on your laptop or wherever) that you'll use any time of the year then now is the time to start one and begin with these two recipes – you could call it “go to”!

Now it's back to the economical – but tasty … and a New Year

Under your belt!

I know the holidays have gone but I'm including this recipe so that you've got it “under your belt” - you'll use it all year round I promise you.

You'll never buy another cheese straw/twizzle or whatever other fancy name they give them, again. If you think I'm exaggerating then try the recipe just because you deserve a savoury treat!

You will guard this recipe with your life - these biscuits will become your best friend.

Parmesan biscuits

Makes 25-30

100g/4oz cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

100g/4oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting

pinch salt

pinch cayenne pepper

1 heaped tsp mustard powder

50g/2oz finely grated mature cheddar cheese

50g/2oz finely grated Parmesan, plus extra to decorate

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 180c/160fan/Gas 4.

Place the butter and flour into a food processor with the salt, cayenne, mustard powder and cheeses. Process together then pulse the mixture in short spurts until you notice the mixture coming together. It will eventually bind without the need for egg or water. Tip the mixture onto a sheet of cling film and use the cling film to bring it together into a round. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Leaving longer will do no harm.

Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the pastry thinly. Cut out the biscuits in shapes to suit the occasion. Lay them on a greased or non stick baking tray – 2cm apart. You'll need two trays.

Brush the surface with egg and sprinkle over a little of the finely grated Parmesan. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Use a palette knife to ease the biscuits off the tray and place on a rack to cool.

They will keep for a few days – good luck with that - take my advice and bake and freeze when there's no-one around – otherwise the aroma from the oven will bring everyone into the kitchen and it'll be bye bye biscuits!

Another piped paté

Paté number two is so easy and perfect for piping!

Cream cheese and cashew nut paté

1 carrot, finely grated

225g cream cheese

100g roasted cashew nuts, crushed to a rubble – not

to a dust!

1 tbsp of chopped chives

salt and black pepper

black olives – pitted and sliced to garnish

Mix all the ingredients together, box and fridge – complicated it isn't!

If you have leftovers it's yummy on rice cakes, gluten free cheese oatcakes, toast or even as a sandwich filling – a toasted bagel would be good. Waste not, want not!

Pipe onto crostini and garnish with black olives!

Paté number 3 up next …

Or do you want a warm sauce?

Here's an old favourite – tasty and comforting with a capital “c”. It's versatile – you can divide the quantity of sauce and fishcakes separately to freeze if you prefer – so batch cooking if you like! It's also perfect with smoked fish and hard boiled eggs – sounds a little odd but it works.

Mornay Sauce

Serves 4-6

40g unsalted butter

40g plain flour

600ml of milk – I use semi skimmed

150g mature Cheddar cheese

(or a combination of Cheddar and gruyere)

salt and black pepper

½ tsp Dijon mustard - optional

Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour. Cook gently for a minute, stirring – make sure you don't brown the mixture. Gradually add the milk whisking constantly and eventually bring to the boil, whisking until it's smooth and thick. Lower the heat and simmer for 2 minutes, then add the cheese, mustard and season. I'd taste before you add salt – there's salt in the cheese – adjust accordingly.

It's not compulsory to make 4-6 servings of the mornay sauce, halve the recipe if you prefer – personally I don't see the point of going to the bother of making a good sauce when you can freeze what you don't need for another day.

Serve with the fishcakes, drizzle generously with the mornay sauce, new potatoes and samphire – delicious!

Next up – a marinade and a stir fry with a leftover lunch ...

Now for the curry sauce …

This is a middle for diddle curry sauce, quite mild – you could ramp it up by increasing the strength of the curry powder to your taste, if you prefer!

It's a curry sauce that I use all the time – useful too and it's quick and easy.

Rendang Sauce

160 ml coconut cream

3 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp curry powder

(I used mild)

1 tbsp kecap manis

(also known as sweet soy sauce)

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over a low heat for 3/4 minutes

and serve. Can be made ahead and re-heated.

Cool, then set aside alongside the koftas until you're ready to assemble your sub.

If you want to use paneer then add small cubes to the sauce when combined, heat gently for 10 minutes. Take the paneer out of the sauce and set both aside.

You will need … and the extras!

Lets do breakfast … or brunch if you prefer

What about a Cheese and Onion Muffin Loaf – a thick slice, toasted – topped with a poached egg and then the world really is your lobster – bacon on the side – sausage too. For a veggie idea mushrooms are always a winner with me!

Cheese and Onion Muffin Loaf

170ml vegetable oil

1 large egg

284ml buttermilk

70ml milk

500g self raising flour

1 tsp English mustard powder

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1 tsp salt

150 mature cheddar cheese, grated

bunch of spring onions – or 6 if you want to be precise

200g Crumbly Lancashire cheese, crumbled

or Lancashire Tasty if you can get hold of it

Kit required

You have a choice – one x 900g loaf tin for one loaf

or

two x 450g for two loaves

You can either grease your tin with oil and then

line with baking paper overlapping so that it's easy

to remove

or

You can use cake liners instead

Pre-heat your oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4.

Mix together the wet ingredients – vegetable oil, egg, buttermilk and milk – ideally in a large jug.

Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl – flour, mustard powder, cayenne and salt and then add the grated cheddar (reserve a handful to sprinkle over the top of the loaves) and spring onions.

Add the wet to the dry together with the Crumbly Lancashire taking care not to overwork the mixture – divide into the two loaf tins and top with the reserved grated cheddar. Bake for 65/70 minutes until golden on the top. Push a skewer through the middle – it should be clean when removed. You can cover with foil once golden. Leave to cool for 15 minutes and then remove from the tins and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Hold that thought ...

Another quick and easy bread recipe …

… of the “no yeast” variety.

There's only one word for this loaf – scrumptious!

Cheese & Pecan loaf

60g Parmesan cheese, grated

350g plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

pinch cayenne pepper

125g mature cheddar cheese, cut

into small cubes

60g chopped pecan nuts (or walnuts

if preferred)

4 spring onions, trimmed and chopped

250ml full fat milk

1 large egg

170ml tub of sour cream

salt and black pepper

900g (2lb) loaf tin, well buttered and

lined

Pre-heat your oven 180c/160fan/Gas 4

Sprinkle half the grated Parmesan cheese into the loaf tin to coat the base and sides.

Mix the flour, baking powder, cayenne pepper, 1 tsp salt and lots of black pepper into a large bowl. Mix in the cheddar cubes, nuts and spring onions.

In a separate bowl whisk the milk, egg and cream together then fold into the dry ingredients.

Spoon in the loaf tin, smooth the top and sprinkle with the remaining grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 50/55 minutes until golden brown – skewer test i.e. insert skewer into loaf, on removal should be clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, turn out and transfer to a rack to cool.

Serve warm with lots of butter.

You could serve as part of a breakfast, a brunch, a snack or just because it's scrumptious!

Then there's a muffin loaf ...

The Tartlet filling

4-500g mashed potato

1 tsp Dijon mustard

3 generous handfuls of grated

Gruyere, Red Leicester and Mature Cheddar Cheese

black pepper

sprinkle of dried parsley

This is perfect for leftover mash or perhaps a good reason to cook more than you would use!

Mix the Dijon mustard and black pepper into the mash, add the cheeses, cover and fridge until you're ready to use.

Remove the bagged tartlets from the freezer and fridge on the morning of the day you want them.

Fill each tartlet with the mash mixture and top with a sprinkle of parsley, it should be generous and irregular.

Pre-heat oven to 200c/180fan/Gas 6 and a baking sheet.

Cook for 20/25 minutes until the tips of the mash are golden brown.

Serve with the Sharing Plates.

Any leftover cheesy mash can be frozen for another day.

It's providence – I must have known how useful they'd be – they were a huge hit and I'll definitely be making the tartlet cases for stashing in my freezer!

Coming up … ideas for the Tartlet cases

The Pasty - the filling!

Cheese, potato and onion pie filling

gives generous filling enough

for four large pasties

700g of Maris Piper (or similar variety)

potatoes, boiled and then mashed

2 medium onions, finely diced and

sautéed with a knob of unsalted butter and

a drop of rapeseed oil until softened – 5 minutes

2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard

150g of Mature Cheddar cheese, grated

75g each of Red Leicester and Gruyere cheese, grated

Black pepper

1 egg, beaten for egg wash

Baking sheet, lined with baking parchment

Boil the potatoes until cooked – test by using a paring knife which will pass through easily. Drain and then mash roughly, add the Mature Cheddar cheese, mustard and black pepper. Add the sautéed onion and remaining grated cheese, mix well. Set aside to cool.

The advantage of using a rough mash and adding the cheddar cheese before the onion and remaining cheeses gives you a stiff filling and one that is easy to control which is essential when assembling and completing your pasty. You are able to mould the filling easily – it remains firm and doesn't spill all over your worktop.

Just in case you might be tempted – do not add any “liquid” i.e. milk or an egg – to the mash, it needs to be firm, adding liquid will turn your filling into mush!

Be patient, it's important to let the filling cool completely, you'll be pleased with the result.

Assembly and crimpinology ...

Save time and money – Part 10

Or you could choose a cobbler …

… what's the difference? A dumpling usually contains suet (veggie or not) although it's true you can make them using self raising flour, whereas a cobbler is a scone based mix. Cobblers can be both sweet or savoury - I thought we'd have a change and make a cheese and onion version.

Before I begin with the recipe for the cobbler I think it's worthwhile repeating a tip I gave in April relating then to dumplings but which will be equally useful for the cobbler.

Traditionally dumplings are placed on top of a casserole with a tightly fitting lid. Casseroles have a thicker consistency than soup and obviously, usually, slow cooked in the oven. Soup simmers on top of the hob and saucepan lids “sit” on top of the pan and are not what I'd describe as “tightly fitting”.

Here's my tip - tear off a sheet of foil large enough to overlap the pan, push down slightly and then secure with the lid. Make sure your soup is simmering gently before you add the dumplings and seal with foil. 20 minutes later you'll have dumplings the size of which you wouldn't believe!”

Clarification for certain culinary words are required - the word, “dollop” - means “large” the word to describe the size of each portion of cobbler is “blob” which is smaller than a dollop! Reading this paragraph it sounds like I've really lost it. Recipes should be as precise and descriptive as you can make them and size definitely matters when you're giving guidance to readers.

Once again, to back up my mouth – here's my tip :

Dust off that ice cream scoop that you use once every blue moon! Brush the scoop with the tiniest drop of vegetable oil to prevent sticking and use it to scoop uniform blobs of cobbler – it's meant to be rustic so don't stress! It's an idea so that you'll achieve even weighted cobbler cooking.

By the way – my ice cream scoop measures 5cms in diameter – 2” in old money, here it is :

Cheese & Onion Cobbler

2 medium onions, finely diced

15g of unsalted butter

1

dessertspoon of rapeseed oil

a pinch of salt

The cobbler topping

375g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp sea salt

75g unsalted butter – diced and chilled

250ml milk – I used semi-skimmed

125g Gruyere, coarsely grated

Method

For the onions

Using a medium sized frying pan, melt the butter and rapeseed oil, add the onions and salt and cook on a medium to low heat for 15 minutes, stirring until soft and golden. Set aside to cool.

For the cobbler

Using a large mixing bowl add the flour, baking powder, salt and butter and rub in with your fingertips until you've got a breadcrumb texture. Add the milk, cheese and onions and stir with round bladed knife until just combined. Using your ice cream scoop, spoon blobs on to the top of your gently simmering goulash. You're cooking 8 – reserving 6 - the recipe will give you 14.

Bake, uncovered, in the oven for 25 minutes until golden brown.

I decided to cook eight blobs and then wrap the remaining six, bag and freeze so that I can see how they behave on another day when I need a cobbler – watch this space!

Here are the final photos :

the remaining six, ready for wrapping

the remaining six, bagged ready for the freezer

here's the soup and cobbler – I shouldn't

have done but I ate them both – yum!

This ticks more than one box. If you're tired and in need of comfort, a casserole or a soup with a cobbler is the answer, it absolutely hits the spot. It's economical too – perfect for a mid week Autumn meal.

P.s. I had leftover soup and cobbler which, portioned, went into the freezer. I defrosted a portion of soup which had two blobs of cobbler – in the fridge, overnight. I lifted the cobbler blobs away from the soup and placed on a microwaveable plate or a lid from a box would do. The cobbler blobs hold their shape well and so it's easy to remove any soup in its cold state. I wanted to see how the cobbler element performed and so microwaved them on high for one minute – you may want another 20 seconds. I then re-heated the soup and hey presto lunch! The cobbler blobs were delicious and I have another boxed stashed in the freezer for that chilly Autumn day I know is on its way.

I promised an update too on the six frozen uncooked blobs of cobbler. Here's the light bulb bit – all that is required is an egg, beaten, ready to brush the blobs and then place in a pre-heated the oven 200fan/220/Gas 7 for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

Here's what happened :

the tray lined with baking parchment, with

the cobbler blobs added and then egg washed, twice

straight from the oven and delicious

warm – a “cobbler” ploughman's

anyone?

Spoilt for choice!

Next up, a few ideas for your pudding or dessert if you don't like Christmas Pudding.