ANN/THE DAILY STAR – Cheese stands as an incredibly versatile kitchen staple. Its adaptability spans from enhancing pasta dishes to adding richness to cheesecake, making it a key ingredient in an array of sweet and savoury recipes.
To satisfy your cheese cravings and embark on a delectably cheesy culinary journey, we present a selection of savoury cheese recipes for you to explore.
CHICKEN LASAGNE
Ingredients
400 grammes (g) chicken rasher
15 lasagne sheets
200g mozzarella
For the béchamel sauce:
50g butter
One large onion
Two cloves of garlic
Three tablespoons of flour
750 millilitre (ml) milk
One cup chopped mushrooms
One cup shredded mozzarella
Half cup of deshi cheese
Salt to taste
Half tablespoon of pepper
Half tablespoon of oregano
One tablespoon of parsley
One tablespoon of chilli flakes
Method
To make the béchamel sauce, add butter, chopped onions, and garlic in a pan, and cook until fragrant. Then, add in flour and stir until it becomes a thick mixture and the flour is cooked.
Pour in milk and continue to stir. Keep on stirring the mixture while you add chopped mushrooms and condiments including salt, pepper, oregano, and parsley.
This will turn into a thick, gloopy mixture. Finally, add in the two types of shredded cheese and finish off with chilli flakes.
For the chicken rasher, lightly pat them over a heated pan for five minutes on both sides. Before assembling, preheat your oven to 170 degrees Celsius (°C).
In a large casserole, pour in a generous layer of the béchamel sauce and then add a layer of pasta.
Add another layer of sauce and top with chicken rasher. Repeat this sequence until all the sauce is exhausted.
At the very top, add a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for 40 minutes.
POTATO DAUPHINOISE
Ingredients
Six large potatoes
Two cups of cream
Half tablespoon of nutmeg
One tablespoon of salt
Half tablespoon of black pepper
One tablespoon of butter
Four garlic cloves
200g of mozzarella cheese
Method
Peel the potatoes and slice them in wafer-thin layers using a mandolin. To the cream, add salt, pepper, grated nutmeg and mix. Grease the sides of a casserole with butter and start with a layer of cream.
Then place the potatoes in a layer and sprinkle over some garlic and cheese.
Repeat this until the dish is full and add a generous amount of cheese on the final layer.
Bake this in a preheated oven at 160°C for an hour before serving piping hot.
QUICHE LORRAINE
Ingredients
For the crust:
One-and-a-quarter cup of flour
100g butter
One egg
For the filling:
100g beef
100g mushrooms
100g tofu
Two-third cup of cherry tomatoes
One tablespoon of oil
Three eggs
A pinch of nutmeg
Half tablespoon of salt
Half tablespoon of black pepper
Two tablespoons of chives
Half cup of cream
Half cup of milk
Half cup of grated mozzarella cheese
Method
To make the crust, add cold, diced butter into the flour and use your fingertips to combine – this should have grainy consistency.
Then, crack in one cold egg and combine to make a dough. Once the dough is formed, wrap it with cling film and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Once done, roll this out flat and place it on a greased tart pan.
Pat the edges to smoothen out and bring to shape, then poke the surface with a fork.
Bake this in a preheated oven at 160°C for 20 minutes.
To make the filling, heat oil in a pan and add in meat, sliced mushrooms, and tomatoes.
Sprinkle some salt and pepper and cook for five minutes. Beat the eggs and add black pepper, salt, nutmeg, chives, cream, and milk while mixing.
Disperse the cooked elements on the case along with little dices of tofu. Then add in grated mozzarella cheese, and finally, pour over the cream mixture. Bake for 30 minutes in the same oven and wait for it to cool down before slicing in. – Fariha Amber
