Credit: Stephen Jackson
This month's recipe combines a couple of our favourite things to make, especially in the warm weather. It combines a daisy-fresh homemade curd cheese, topped with a simple salad of tomatoes dressed with lime juice and black garlic paste, which can be found in some supermarkets, or online, here.
Making fresh cheese at home is far simpler than you might imagine, and the results are spectacular. You’ll just need to invest in some vegetarian rennet (most health food shops stock this, and it’s widely available online) and perhaps some cheesecloth or muslin. Do have a go, though; it’s lots of fun. It’s definitely something even the younger children could help with, too. Get them started early!
Homemade fresh cheese with tomato, lime and black garlic
For the cheese:
1.2 litres full cream milk
1 tsp. vegetarian rennet
2 tbsps. natural yoghurt
1/4 tsp sea salt flakes
A sieve
A bowl to fit the sieve
A sheet of muslin or cheesecloth
For the tomato salad:
Approx. 500g ripe tomatoes (any colour, any size – ideally a mix of several varieties)
1 small onion, sliced very thinly
½ tsp. black garlic paste
2 tbsps. Yorkshire rapeseed oil
The juice and zest of 1 lime
A splash of rice vinegar (or white wine / cider vinegar)
1 tsp. black sesame seeds (regular sesame will be fine)
½ tsp honey
A pinch of smoked sea salt flakes
A handful of basil leaves
A few grinds of fresh black pepper
To make the cheese, first set out the muslin or cheesecloth in the sieve, and set over the bowl. Now, in a clean pan, heat the milk to 36-37°C and remove from the heat. Whisk in the rennet and yoghurt and set aside for 20-25 minutes. When you return to the pan the milk will have miraculously set to a wonderfully wobbly solid. Criss-cross the curd with a sharp knife and leave for a further 20-25 minutes. Then, with a slotted spoon, carefully transfer the curds into the muslin cloth. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight, then decant into a suitable storage tub. Refrigerate until required. (The liquid that drains is called the Whey & can be used in all sorts of recipes, including homemade ice-cream!)
Now for the salad: soak the sliced onion in very cold water for about an hour – this helps reduce the harshness and acidity. Then, chop the tomatoes into even-sized pieces, discarding the seeds as much as you can. Mix the garlic paste, olive oil, lime juice & zest, smoked salt, vinegar and honey in a bowl. In a dry frying pan, over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds and when aromatic, tip quickly into a bowl. Add half of the seeds to the dressing and reserve the rest. Carefully add the tomatoes to the dressing. Drain the onion slices and add to the tomatoes. Fold everything together gently to coat, and leave for an hour to allow all the flavours to get to know each other.
To serve, spread the cheese out on a suitable serving plate or wide bowl, and heap the tomato salad into the centre. Dress with the fresh greek basil leaves, a few grinds of pepper, and the remaining sesame seeds. Scoop generously onto bread or crackers and enjoy!
This dish deserves good bread, so make sure you source the best artisan loaves you can find. Baguettes, Bloomers or Boules; anything will go well. We love the bread from our local "Handmade" Bakery, which you can find here.
