Vegetable Tortilla Treat

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 200g (8 oz) tortilla chips
• 400g (1lb) jar salsa sauce/dip

Topping ingredients

• 4 tomatoes- de-seeded & chopped
• yellow & green pepper & chopped
• 3 spring onions – chopped
• 1 red chilli – finely chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
• 3 tbsp natural yoghurt
• 75g (3oz) Rothbury Red cheese

Method

1. Arrange the chips around a large ovenproof shallow dish.
2. Spoon the salsa over the centre. Then sprinkle over the topping ingredients.
3. Spread the yoghurt over this and finally sprinkle over the cheese.
4. Place the dish under the grill on the lowest shelf on a medium heat until the cheese melts – take care not to burn the tortilla chips.
5. You may have to remove any chips that catch to much under the heat of the grill.

Creamy Leek and Potato Soup with Blacksticks Cheese Straws

Serves 4

Description
This recipe might look a little long at first glance. However the soup is very easy to make and produces a marvellously creamy soup complimented by crisp tasty straws flavoured with Blacksticks Blue!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 200g chopped leek (only the white part)
• A small chopped onion (150g)
• A clove of garlic – crushed
• 50ml dry white wine
• 750ml water or vegetable stock
• 200g peeled, chopped potatoes (about 3 medium sized)
• A bay leaf
• 200ml Milk
• 75g Butlers Farmhouse Creamy Lancashire, grated
• A bunch of snipped chives

For the Cheese Straws

• Half a block of puff pastry
• 50g Blacksticks Blue

Method

1. Place the oil on the stove over a medium heat. Add the onion, leek and garlic and fry gently for a few minutes. Soften the vegetables but don't allow them to turn brown.
2. Add the white wine and allow it to evaporate. Then add the water/stock and the potatoes, season and simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes start to fall.
3. Roll out the pastry on a little flour and crumble on the Blacksticks Blue. Add as much as you like according to taste. Fold the pastry over and roll out again repeating until the cheese is evenly distributed in the pastry. Place into the fridge to chill.
4. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Roll out the pastry to about 2mm thick and about 10cm wide, then cut into strips about half a centimetre wide.
5. Place the strips onto the baking sheet, either flat or twist into a gentle spiral (like a pasta twist!) Rest the pastry in the fridge for 10 minutes before baking in the oven until golden brown
6. Finish the soup by adding the milk and the cheese stir through then liquidize to a smooth creamy consistency. Check the seasoning then pour into a warmed bowl finishing with the chives and Blacksticks cheese straws.

Rosemary Baked Whitehaven with Relishes

Serves 2

Description
Rich creamy Whitehaven baked with sprigs of Rosemary and spread onto fresh bread.

This is easily one of the quickest and tastiest meals you will ever eat! Baking the cheese like this makes the outside mellow and creamy with a cool acidic inside, it's like having two cheeses in one!

Ingredients

• 1x150g Whitehaven Goats Cheese
• 2 Sprigs of Rosemary
• A good splash of Olive Oil
• Fresh crusty bread

Then it's really up to you what you have with the cheese! We suggest….
A salad of your choice such as a leafy herb salad, cherry or sun blush tomatoes, sliced red onion and celery sticks.

A selection of chutneys such as tomato, red onion marmalade and maybe a spicy chilli jelly!

Method

1. Pre heat the oven to 200C/ Gas mark 6.
2. Skewer the cheese with the rosemary and coat the cheese with olive oil.
3. Place onto a baking tray and cook for about 8 minutes or until the cheese starts to fall a little.
4. Remove from the oven place on a plate with your chosen accompaniments. Then simply spread onto chunks or slices of bread with salad and relishes!

Salisbury Rarebit

Serves 2

Ingredients

For the sauce

• 15g unsalted butter
• 15g plain flour
• 100ml Guinness
• 80g Farmhouse Red Leicester, grated
• A little English mustard
• Dash of Worcestershire sauce
• Dash of Tabasco
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To complete:

• a white onion, sliced and softened
• 2 slices white bread

Method

1. Melt the butter in a pan, add the flour and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring.
2. Gradually whisk in the Guinness and bring the sauce to the boil.
3. Simmer for another minute, then remove from the heat. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until all the cheese has melted.
4. Toast the bread on both sides and arrange the softened onions on top. Spread the rarebit mixture on top and glaze under the grill.

Chef's Tip:If you don't have any Guinness or prefer a less intense flavour, try using stout or bitter. And if you are teetotal, you can substitute milk for the Guinness.

Spiced Apple Pie with Wensleydale

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 600g cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped
• a pinch of ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 50g raisins
• 75g caster sugar
• 75g Wensleydale cheese, broken into small chunks
• 225g shortcrust pastry
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, to glaze

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200¡C/400¡F/Gas 6.
2. Mix together the apples, spices, raisins, sugar and cheese and place in a deep 20cm pie dish. Roll out the pastry a little larger than the pie dish.
3. Cut a thin strip from around the edge and press it on to the rim of the dish, then brush with a little of the beaten egg.
4. Cover the pie with the pastry, pressing it on to the rim and trimming the edges.
5. Flute the edges neatly and make a hole in the centre.
6. Roll out the pastry trimmings and cut out leaves or whatever shape you like. Use to decorate the pie.
7. Brush all over with the beaten egg and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is golden.
8. Reduce the oven temperature to 160¡C/325¡F/Gas 3 and bake for a further 25 minutes.
9. Serve hot or warm with a light custard sauce or thick clotted cream.

Lobster, Pear, Corn and Mixed Greens Salad with Roasted Pineapple and Vinagrette (Ron Bilaro - Personal Chef )

Serves 2

Ingredients
1 cup cooked lobster meat
1 Bosc pear, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 cup yellow corn
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
4 cups combination of bibb, radicchio and spinach

dressing
1 cup fresh pineapple, peeled, cored cut into slices and roasted
1/3 cup sesame oil
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp fresh minced garlic
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
2/3 cup Aguibal Arbequina extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

For the dressing, combine all the ingredients except the olive oil, salt and pepper. Using a food processor, puree the ingredients and slowly add the oil to emulsify. Salt and pepper to taste.

For the salad, in a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the lobster and pear. Slowly pour about 3 tbsp of the dressing in the bowl to lightly coat the greens. Place the greens at the center of the salad plate and put the lobster and pears on top. Lightly drizzle a little more dressing on top of the salad before serving.

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Salt Cod and Tomato Stew

Servings
Serves 6 to 8.

Ingredients
1 pound dried salt cod
1/2 cup to 1 cup Aguibal Picual
1/2 cup 1/4-inch-diced onions
4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1/2 jalapeño, minced and seeded (if the jalapeño is mild, leave the seeds in)
2 ounces grappa or dry white wine
2 cups tomatoes, chopped, with their juice
Bouquet garni: parsley stems, thyme, marjoram, fennel fronds, and a bay leaf, tied in cheesecloth
1 cup 1/2-inch-diced bell pepper
1/2 cup pitted Niçoise olives
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
Fruity extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
Sea-salt crystals and freshly ground black pepper

Cooking Instructions
Place the dried cod in a bowl, cover with cold water, and soak for at least 48 hours, changing the water every 12 hours. Remove the cod from the water, pat dry with paper towels, and cut into 1-inch pieces.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a Teflon sauté pan, add the cod in small batches, and sauté until lightly browned; set aside and repeat with remaining cod. (If the cod is too wet, it will not brown.)
Warm 4 tablespoons oil in a 2-quart casserole; add the onions, garlic, and jalapeño; and cook gently without allowing them to color. Pour in the grappa, and reduce until the liquid has evaporated. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add the browned salt cod and bouquet garni, cover the casserole, and simmer gently for 45 minutes. Fold in the peppers, olives, and capers, and return to a simmer for an additional 15 minutes. The stew should be juicy; if it becomes dry, add a little water or stock. Ladle into bowls, drizzle with the fruity olive oil, and sprinkle with plenty of black pepper and a few coarse sea-salt crystals. Serve with grilled or crusty fresh bread.

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Red & White Dressing

Kurt Eggers - Executive Chef, 1 C.P.S.

"This is a classic dressing at 1 C.P.S. - a favorite among our regulars. This dressing goes very well over any Greek or Gorgonzola Salad."

Servings: About 4.

Ingredients
2 Cups Port
2 Cups Red Wine
1 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 Cup Honey
3 Sprigs of Thyme, Oregano, Parsely (tied together as a boquet)
2 Chopped Shallots
1 Clove Garlic
1 Qt. Aguibal Manzanilla

Add everything except the olive oil in a small pan. Reduce to 1/3, then add the boquet of herbs, shallots and garlic. Simmer for about two minutes then strain into bowl. While hot, whisk in the olive oil. When cool, add salt and pepper to taste.

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Green Bean Salad with Tomatoes and Feta

By: Art Smith, Personal Chef to Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham

Makes 4 to 6 Servings

Serve this as a side dish or as a light salad for lunch.

1 1/2 pounds green beans, washed and trimmed
1/2 pint grape tomatoes
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons Aguibal Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Arbequina)

Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the green beans and cook until barely tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Pat the green beans dry with paper towels. Toss the green beans, tomatoes, feta, shallot, mint and basil together in a large bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

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