Hugo Arnold is passionate about cheese, especially if it's from Ireland
If I said cheese was a passion it would be an understatement. It's more like an obsession. I adore them all, from rich, intense Gabriel or Desmond to tangy Cashel Blue, from spiky Ardrahan to the glorious depths of well-kept Durrus or Gubbeen. I sometimes wonder why I bother with the befores, being happy enough with cheese and perhaps some salad.
Try thinly slicing the likes of Durrus or Ardrahan onto a salad of leaves spiked with a dressing of best olive oil cut with lemon juice or vinegar. Or crumble goats' cheese into an omelette or frittata laced with summer greenery.How about a tomato salad with mozzarella, goats' cheese or feta (the latter marinated in olive oil and herbs and a clove or two of garlic)?
Roasted vegetables seem the perfect partners in these summer salads; they work well with cheese and perhaps some salad leaves; baby carrots and beetroot are particular favourites, but try fennel or even asparagus if you are tiring of scooping up hollandaise.
Podded peas and beans with dollops of ricotta, and perhaps a touch of garlic, make for fine summer feasting. (Why not get others to do the podding? Along with a cold glass of white wine, this has introduced many strangers to each other in our household - and enabled me to get on with the rest of the meal.) I am also grilling every vegetable in sight - aubergines and courgettes, red peppers and red onions - which I pile into a bowl with olive oil and herbs, then cover, so they wilt, later to be dressed with any number of cheeses, many of them, thankfully, Irish.
RECIPES SERVE FOUR
WILTED RADICCHIO AND RED PEPPERS WITH CASHEL BLUE AND TOASTED ALMONDS
2 red peppers
1 head radicchio
4 handfuls salad leaves
4 generous slices of Cashel Blue
20 whole almonds
olive oil
1 lemon, quartered
Preheat a grill or barbecue and cook the peppers until well charred. Transfer to a bowl, cover with cling film and set aside. Trim the stem from the radicchio and then slice vertically into segments so each remains joined by the core. Grill or barbecue briefly until slightly charred and wilted. Add to the peppers and cover.
When the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the skin, core and seeds and tear into strips. Combine with the radicchio and salad leaves and arrange on four plates.
Toast the almonds in a hot oven until just coloured; allow to cool. Combine the juices from the peppers and radicchio with enough olive oil to form a dressing. Season everything with salt and pepper, pour over the dressing and scatter over the almonds and Cashel Blue. Serve with a lemon wedge to liven things up.
GRILLED AUBERGINE SALAD
WITH FETA
2 dessert spoons each of black and white mustard seeds
juice of 2 lemons
6 aubergines
12 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp crumbled feta
1 bunch mint, picked
1 large bunch of basil, picked
4 handfuls spinach, well washed and drained
Combine the mustard seeds and lemon juice in a bowl, cover with cling film and set aside. Slice the aubergine into discs about one centimetre thick and grill, on a ridged griddle pan if you have one, otherwise under an ordinary grill until golden brown on both sides. There is no need to brush with olive oil. As they cook, transfer to a bowl, drizzle the olive oil over them, season with salt and pepper and seal with cling film so they finish cooking in their own steam.
Finely chop and then mash the garlic with a little salt until it forms a smooth paste - best done with the flat side of a large sharp knife. Add to the aubergines and when cool, toss with the mint and a seasoning of salt and pepper. Add the basil leaves, spinach, mustard seeds and lemon juice. Toss well, check seasoning and serve.
ROAST SUMMER VEGETABLES WITH TORN MOZZARELLA
2 red peppers, cored, seeded and cut into thick strips
3 courgettes, trimmed and cut into strips
2 chicory, trimmed and quartered lengthways
12 shallots, peeled
1 head of garlic, split into cloves and peeled
bunch thyme
2 sprigs rosemary
extra virgin olive oil
4 large ripe tomatoes
1 small red onion
2 or 3 Serrano chillies (or to taste)
juice of two limes
1 tbsp olive oil
bunch coriander, roughly chopped
2 balls of mozzarella
Preheat the oven as high as it will go. Arrange the vegetables on a large shallow roasting tray, or two smaller ones. Scatter the garlic and herbs over the top. Season well with salt and pepper and dribble over enough olive oil to coat the vegetables lightly. Toss and roast at the top of the oven for 30 minutes, turning the vegetables occasionally to prevent the catching.
Blanch and skin the tomatoes. Roughly chop, along with the seeds and place in a bowl. Peel and finely chop the red onion, pick the coriander and roughly chop it. De-seed and finely chop the chillies, add the juice of two limes and the olive oil. Season with salt, stir well, leave for 30 minutes for the flavours to develop and add more salt, chillies or lime juice as required. Stir in the coriander.
Peel the skin from the peppers and then pile all the roasted vegetables on a plate. Tear the mozzarella and scatter over the vegetables and drizzle over the tomato mixture.