What is cheddar?
This uncooked pressed cheese made from cow’s milk will delight fans of burgers, mac and cheese or Welsh rarebit, these Welsh toasts generously covered with a beer and cheese sauce. Although it can be more or less mature and powerful, cheddar is not always necessarily orange. This color is due to the addition of a natural dye called achiote, the fruit of the achiote tree, a shrub from tropical America. But this coloring does not only have an aesthetic function, it also protects the cheese from mold. It is also to him that we owe the orange color of mimolette, but also of haddock! One product, several results.
In what recipes should you use cheddar?
It’s simple, you can add cheddar everywhere. On an omelette, toast, savory autumn pie, fried eggs, pasta, roasted vegetables, etc. If it is perfect cut into cubes in a pretty autumn salad with frisée salad, grilled bacon, nuts, it is addictive in a melted version. So we don’t hesitate for a single second to slip it between two slices of bread for an autumn croque-monsieur that honors the season or a gourmet grilled cheese.
To follow, three recipes to try this season.
Recipe #1: Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Cheddar
© Danièle Gerkens
Mashed potatoes are an easy delicacy to adopt and vary with any cheese.
How to do it? We clean 500 g of small potatoes (new potatoes or fingerlings), immerse them in boiling water for 15 minutes, until they are tender. Drain them and put them on an oiled baking sheet. We crush them using the bottom of a glass or bottle, without reducing them to a puree.
In a bowl, mix 2 tbsp. tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tbsp. chopped garlic, 2 tbsp. teaspoon of paprika, salt and pepper.
Brush this mixture on the potatoes and bake for 12 minutes until they are golden and crispy.
Remove from the oven, sprinkle with 100 g of grated cheddar and bake again for 2-3 minutes.
Cover with 2 tbsp. of chopped fresh chives and serve.
For 4 people
Discover the recipe for crispy cheddar Smashed Potatoes
Recipe #2: Eggs and bacon muffins
Ideal for a fall brunch!
How to do it? Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place 8 slices of pork belly on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. Bake for 18 minutes, then set aside on absorbent paper.
We slice 2 rinsed sweet Greek peppers.
Lightly oil a baking tray. Cut 4 muffins in half and bake for 2 minutes, golden side on the baking sheet. Remove from the oven, garnish with 8 slices of cheddar (or Emmental) and bake for an additional 2 minutes.
Melt 25 g of butter in a hot pan, cook 4 fried eggs for 2 or 3 minutes. Place an egg, two slices of bacon and the chopped peppers on each of the 4 muffin halves. Season with a little fleur de sel, pepper and barbecue sauce. Close and serve immediately.
For 4 people
Discover the recipe for Eggs and bacon muffins
Recipe #3: Welsh rabbit
© Anne-Claire Héraud
A generous recipe, ideal for rainy fall days.
How to do it? Melt 400 g of diced cheddar with 3 tbsp. tablespoon of beer and 1 tbsp. mustard in a saucepan.
Place 2 slices of sourdough bread in a baking dish, covered with half a slice of ham each.
Cover with melted cheese and place under the oven grill for 5 minutes.
We cook 2 fried eggs and place them on the ham.
We serve without delay.
For 2 people
Discover the Welsh rabbit recipe