There’s a shocking statistic that every household throws away an average of left over 2.2 kilos of cheese away over the Festive period.
To be honest, I’m as guilty as the next person in buying too much food, especially when the shops are full to bursting with so much on offer.
Inevitably, some cheese will be found lurking in the back of all our fridges. The sell-by and use by dates are confusing, but hard cheeses are usually good to eat after an expiry date. Cheese is a way of preserving milk after all. It is unadvisable to eat soft cheeses and unpasteurised cheeses after their best before date so buy what you need.
The dry skin of parmesan is brilliant to add to soup. It gives a delicious flavour and can be used instead of a stock cube. Ends of hard cheese can be grated and frozen to use for scones or cheese on toast.
Left over Stilton is a bonus to flavour a delicious home- made tart. You can use a ready- made puff pastry for simplicity.
BROCCOLI AND STILTON TART
20cm wide by 4cm deep tart tin and a baking sheet
PASTRY
120g chilled butter
200g plain flour (or 100g each flour and lard)
Pinch of salt
2-3 tablespoons iced water
Wizz everything except the water in a mixer to get a texture of course breadcrumbs.
Add the water and pulse to form a dough.
Tip out, dust with flour and leave in the fridge in a plastic bag for 30 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/Gas 4
Place the baking sheet on the middle shelf.
Grease the tart tin.
Roll out the pastry as thinly as possible and lay it onto the tin, gently pressing the pasty into the sides.
Prick it with a fork and lay a piece of tin foil over it. Add some dried beans on top and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes to start to crisp the bottom of the pastry.
Remove the tin from the oven and carefully lift off the tin foil and beans. Bake for a further 10 minutes or so until the pastry case is a golden colour.
The filling:
200g broccoli, boiled for 10 minutes and refreshed in cold water
5 free range eggs
400 ml whipping cream
200g stilton cheese, crumbled
Freshly grated black pepper
Grating of nutmeg
Whisk the eggs together.
Stir in the cream and the broccoli. Crumble in the stilton and season with black pepper and nutmeg.
Pour the mixture gently into the cooled pastry case and bake for 40 minutes until the tart is risen and firm.
Serve warm with a crisp salad.
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