“A cheeseboard is the ultimate way to finish a meal in style or to showcase your favourite cheeses for a lighter bite,” says chef James Martin. “If you can’t find those listed to serve, you can substitute them with similar cheeses, but try to keep the mixture of soft, hard and blue the same.”
Best-ever cheeseboard
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
2 x 250g blocks of halloumi, sliced in half
1 tsp olive oil
For the chutney:
100g caster sugar
100g dark soft brown sugar
1 onion, sliced
100ml white wine vinegar
100g sultanas
250g fresh gooseberries
For the vine-leaf baked cheese:
6 fresh vine leaves
200g Sharpham Savour, cut into chunks
25ml Sauternes
100ml double cream
6 slices of speck
For the rosemary-baked cheese:
2 Tunworth
Freshly ground black pepper
A few sprigs of rosemary
For the fried cheese:
200g Sharpham Elmhirst
50g plain flour, seasoned
2 eggs, beaten
75g panko breadcrumbs
Suggestions to serve:
Fresh vine leaves
Montagnolo Affine
Honey and clover Gouda
Doddington Hotspur
Admiral Collingwood figs, halved
Pickled onions
Crackers
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/400F/gas 6. To make the chutney, heat a non-stick pan over a medium heat and, when hot, add both sugars. Do not stir but carefully swirl in the pan until the sugars are brown and caramelised. This should take about 3-4 minutes.
2. Once the sugars have caramelised, add the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
3. First, to make the vine-leaf baked cheese, line a 20 x 15cm x 7cm deep ovenproof dish with the vine leaves. Pack in the cheese and pour over the wine and cream. Top with the ham and bake on the top shelf of the oven for 15 minutes.
4. Next, for the rosemary-baked cheese, slice the top off the cheeses and pop them into a 10cm round ovenproof dish, 3cm deep. Crack over black pepper and stud with the rosemary. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 10 minutes.
5. Place the halloumi on a griddle pan, drizzle in the oil and cook on both sides for 1-2 minutes.
6. Finally, for the fried cheese, heat a small pan of vegetable oil to 170C (340F). Dip the cheese in the flour, then the beaten egg and the panko breadcrumbs. Fry for about 1 minute until golden and crispy.
7. To serve, cover a very large board in fresh vine leaves, then position the Montagnolo, Gouda, Hotspur and Admiral Collingwood on the board. Add the two baked cheeses, the fried cheese and halloumi all over the board. Garnish with halved figs, pickled onions, small pots of the chutney and some crackers.
‘Cheese’ by James Martin (Quadrille, £25).
