Recipe and images by Fiona Hugues
As a kid I never really got the fascination and allure of cheese. My rather naïve relationship with it was primarily limited to greasy strands dangling off a dowdy pizza or slabs of cheddar smushed inside a fluffy white bread sandwich with butter and loads of sliced pickled onions. This latter snack was my grandfather’s favourite, affectionately called a ‘pickled onion peecee’ – sometimes the onions were replaced with sweet jam, hurling it to another level of after-dinner/all-day-dessert style elite cheese situation.
These days, a tad older and wizened, I’m down with any curd-induced number, especially those cheeses all creamy or even better, rich and buttery – clearly my solid Waikato upbringing and childhood memories of stolen milk, still warm from the vat, adding to my adult compulsion.
These two recipes are a couple of dishes heavy on my rotation at this time of year. Best served with loads of artisan bread to sop up all the cheesy juices.
Butter Bean Salad on Goat’s Curd Whip with Loads of Dill
This salad is top of my current lust list, primarily due to my newfound adoration for dill. The bright, grassy, slightly tangy herb with its notes of liquorice is bloody marvellous when paired with salty, crunchy spring vegetables all piled on top of soft creamy cheese. I’ve used chevre here but if you’re not a fan of billy goats gruff, cow’s milk feta works well too. Great on its own or as a side dish to a main event.
½ telegraph cucumber, or 2 Lebanese cucumbers, roughly chopped
flaked sea salt
200 g block soft goat’s cheese/chevre or feta
½ cup milk
1 generous cup butter beans, drained (I use Spanish El Navarrico large white farmhouse beans because they are superior, fat and creamy, but any other canned butter beans are fine)
a handful of green beans, blanched (or asparagus when it’s in season)
½ small red onion, sliced
a handful of fresh dill, chopped
lemon juice
1 tsp Aleppo pepper, or pink peppercorns, crushed
extra virgin olive oil
Chuck the cucumber in a bowl and sprinkle generously with salt. Allow to sit for 5–10 minutes then rinse and pat dry. This makes them release a little water and adds lovely crunch.
Crumble the goat’s cheese into a small food processor and blitz with a little milk until smooth and creamy.
Spread generously on your serving platter.
Toss all the butter beans, green beans, dill, cucumber and red onion in a bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice, mixing well to coat everything in the chopped dill.
Pile this beany veg on top of the whipped cheese and sprinkle over the Aleppo pepper. Drizzle with a decent amount of olive oil and devour immediately.
French Puy Lentils with Halloumi & Anchovy Aioli
At this time of year when it’s still not quite warm enough for light summery meals, this wholesome salad ticks the box of something in between. Nourishing French Puy lentils served at room temperature with tangy anchovy aioli and grilled slabs of moreish halloumi is, I can assure you, a very good time. I use this recipe all season long as a base for lots of different versions, changing out the halloumi for grilled chicken, panfried fish, sliced steak and adding soft juicy roasted tomatoes when they’re in season.
2 cups Puy lentils, rinsed
1 carrot
½ brown onion
3 garlic cloves
a handful of broccolini or other spring-like veg, lightly boiled or steamed and blanched in cold water
200 g block of halloumi or any other frying cheese
Anchovy aioli
2 anchovies, or 1 tsp anchovy paste
1 free range egg yolk
juice of a lemon
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
neutral oil (I use light olive oil or grapeseed)
salt & pepper
Place the lentils in a saucepan with the carrot, two cloves of garlic unpeeled, and the half onion and generously cover in water. Simmer until the lentils are tender but still have a little bite – around 20 minutes. Rinse, remove the veg and set aside.
Cut the halloumi into 2 cm steak like chunks and fry in a dry pan until golden and crispy on all sides.
Pile the lentils on your plate, top with the broccolini and hot grilled cheese and slop over lots of the aioli.
As usual sprinkle over a little grassy EVO and enjoy it with a crispy glass of wine and a good loaf on the side.
For the aioli – I make mine in a jug with an automatic whisk. Crush the anchovies into a paste with a knife and add them to the egg yolk, lemon juice, the final garlic clove crushed, mustard and salt and pepper. With the whisk running, slowly drizzle in the oil until it emulsifies and thickens. Taste and add more lemon, salt or a little water to loosen if needed.