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Blue Cheese and Fruits…
Pairing Cheese with Fruit….
I am always looking for new ways to present cheese in our restaurants, in England the practice of serving cheese with biscuits, celery and grapes has long been afhered to and seldom strayed from. On the continent however they take a different approach and it is to France and Italy that I most often look for inspiration.
I don’t always want to serve just a selection, sometimes I like to highlight one particularly good cheese and showcase that. We still offer a selection of good, farmhouse cheese but I feel that cheese lovers will appreciate something different.
So serving cheese with some fruit is nothing new, grapes have long been the norm but stone fruits are fantastic with some creamy blue and so here I’ve chosen plums, apricots, dates and prunes. I like to mix fresh and dry fruits, they each offer something different and are especially good when steeped in a simple stock syrup as I have done here.
For the cheese itself I decided to serve it as a set cream or panna cotta. The cream is seasoned with white pepper and a touch of nutmeg followed by the cheese of your choice. The cream is heated and agar agar (a vegetarian gelatine) is added to set it.
I chill these in individual dariole moulds and turn them out after a couple of hours, getting the right amount of agar agar is vital otherwise you end up with rubbery cheese you could play football with. Of course you can simply slice or crumble some nice cheese alongside your fruits and that will be fine, try a dolcelatta or gorgonzola. The fruits should be served at room temperature to maximize the flavour….have a go.
Blue Cheese Panna Cotta
That looks superb, simple yet impressive
Nice work fella !
Rod
January 22, 2010 @ 10:36 am
Miles,
A plate full of gorgeous fruity cheesiness…. how delightful. My panna cotta experience has been the sweet version and almost none of my acquaintances make it, they shy away from using gelatine for fear of mistake. I get on quite well with the ordinary gelatine sheets but have yet to try agar agar. Mind you Miles, I’ve got mountains of pickled pears to use so I really should give this one a go.
Cid
January 22, 2010 @ 11:15 am
Rod,
Thanks a lot!
Miles
January 22, 2010 @ 2:36 pm
Cid,
Pears would be great, let me know how you get on with it.
Miles
January 22, 2010 @ 2:36 pm
Lovely Miles!
At Bibiana in DC (which I highly recommend) I recently had as a starter some gorgonzola with a selection of winter beets finished with bits of arugula and almonds with a hint of saba (especially nice). Colorful, range of flavors, and both ancient and contemporary at the same time.
Accompanying the cheese plate that my colleague ordered they served medjool dates, candied oranges and an apricot relish . . . lovely ideas that tasted great!
(Got a cheese-making set for Christmas . . . am going to use to just to understand the mechanics of the process better.)
January 22, 2010 @ 5:32 pm
Laura,
That sounds great too, I love goats cheese with beets, I pinched that from Charlie Trotter
Good luck with the cheese making.
Miles
January 23, 2010 @ 8:05 am
Biscuits, celery and grapes? What about dark chocolate and red wine? Or honeycrisp apples? They all go splendidly with a nice choice of cheeses. I love goat’s cheese with beets, too.
Your dessert looks lovely.
Melissa
January 23, 2010 @ 8:29 pm
Hi Miles:
How bout pairing appropriate cheeses with purees from different parts of the silk road? Examples coudl include a pairing with pomegranate puree and an unusual citrus (like Kaffir lime or blood orange); or apricot puree with kiwi. Just something a little more this century. The purees can also make an artful presentation.
Love the Trotter theft! Had the Grand Menu some years ago and it was some of the best “Asian-inspired” food I’ve ever had.
L
January 24, 2010 @ 4:47 pm
Laura,
I’ve never once seen a Kaffir lime in the UK, wonder why? The dried leaves are available in small jars from good spice counters.
Cid
January 24, 2010 @ 5:12 pm
Hi Laura,
That’s a good idea, we should all be more adventurous with our cheese pairings for sure. I certainly envy you that meal
Miles
January 24, 2010 @ 5:15 pm
Melissa,
Good thinking, see, I like the way this gets you guys putting you own perspective on things. That’s a comunity for ya!!!
Miles
January 24, 2010 @ 6:30 pm
Hi Cid:
In the US, we have them in the fall in most Asian markets. They are also available online (also strongly seasonal) at online stores like Grocery Thai, and Temple of Thai.
Perhaps if you ask at your own Asian markets in the UK if they could special order them for you. I’ve done this at the local ordinary grocery (Safeway) here in the US for off-season rhubarb.
You could also order them online and pay the small fortune to ship them.
Good luck.
Laura
January 24, 2010 @ 7:45 pm
Miles, Laura, Cid et al,
I know we’re now past this post (you move way too quickly for me Miles), but I wanted to add something to this discussion. I spent time yesterday putting something together regarding the top trends in the US for 2010 (for a project I’m doing). The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade has chosen the following as the top 5 food trends for 2010.
• Good for you foods (more healthy)
• Coconut
• Gluten Free (yeah!)
• Exotic citrus (just what Laura and Cid were talking about)
• Nostalgic foods (traditional, local, going back to our “roots” and so on)
Anyway, thought I’d add this as I was wondered about how many people were really interested in “exotic citrus” and here you are making the point. Interesting!
Cid, when I come to visit, I’ll bring exotic citrus.
I’m not exactly sure what that is, but it sounds like Meyer Lemons, Blood Oranges, the lime you speak of.
Melissa
January 25, 2010 @ 11:58 am
Melissa,
Great comment, we can get blood oranges here (not worth buying until mid January) and kaffir limes but not Meyer lemons.
That’s an innteresting top five, off to check on your blog now.
Miles
January 25, 2010 @ 7:52 pm
Melissa,
Even my local City Thai restaurant can’t get any kaffir limes, they use only the leaves apparently. If it’s true that Miles can get his hands on one then we must mastermind a covert operation to infiltrate his stores. A wide variety of disguises will be available weather dependent but under the camouflage we’ll be kitted out in sophisticated dining gear for a quick change. Either way we’ll all be sporting a ‘Carmen Miranda’ hat … Miles will never spot an extra lime
Anne’s usually the look-out and we communicate via specialized bird-like tweeting so as to avoid suspicion. After the subject matter has been successfully bagged, a shrill warble will signal the retreat and all operatives will gather for tea and buns in the lounge 
…. either that or we wait for you and your quarantined exotic food parcel to clear customs… personally I favour plan A to keep Miles on his toes… he’s probably going soft with all this corporate lunching in balloons
Cid
January 26, 2010 @ 8:24 pm