Goat Milk

These spiced pears with goat cheese are a beautiful way to dress up your dinner!

And, they are super easy to make, and the aroma from the cooking pears will make your house smell magnificent!

A versatile dish, they can be served warm or cold as appetizer/salad dish, or as dessert.

 

Ingredients:

• 3-4 ripe pears
• 3-4 ounces chevre goat cheese
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 lemon, or about 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. whole cloves
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon, plus more for garnish
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground ginger, or 1/8 tsp. dried ginger
• 1/8 tsp. allspice
• 1/4 cup honey

 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350° F.
• Prepare a baking dish by coating the bottom with half of the lemon juice.
• Combine the water, brown sugar, cloves, cinnamon, ginger and allspice in a bowl and mix well.
• For the pears – Ripe pears are fairly soft, so you’ll want to be extra gentle in handling them during preparation.
• First, cut the pears in half lengthwise, using a very sharp knife to avoid bruising them. Then, core the pears by scooping out the center &mdash a serrated grapefruit spoon works well for this. Finally, peel the pear halves, and place cut side down in the baking dish. Sprinkle the remainder of the lemon juice over the pears.
• Add the spice mixture to the baking dish, cover with a lid or aluminum foil, and bake for about 35-40 minutes until the pears are tender, but still hold their shape well.
• Remove from the oven, and gently turn the pears over.
• Using about 1/2 ounce goat cheese for each pear, press the cheese into a spoon to mold it into an oval shape, then carefully place in the center of each of the baked pears.
• Return to the oven, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is thoroughly warm and soft.
• Garnish with a sprinkling of cinnamon, a spoonful of the spiced syrup, and a drizzle of honey for each pear.

 

Serving Suggestions:

These spiced pears make a delicious and beautiful dessert when served warm, straight from the oven.

However, they can also double as a salad or appetizer.

For a salad, chill the cooked pears thoroughly before adding cold goat cheese and honey. Serve on a bed of spring greens, or a leaf of Romaine lettuce.

 

 

 

This classic soufflé recipe is wonderful to wow your dinner party guests.

Goats’ cheese and pecorino make these twice-baked soufflés extra cheesy and finishing them under the grill gives a lovely crisp top. The perfect starter to impress.

This recipe requires less than 30 mins Preparation time, 30 mins to 1 hour Cooking time, Makes 6.

 

Ingredients:

For the soufflés

• 550ml/8½fl oz full-fat goats milk
• 175g/6oz goats’ #CommissionsEarned cheese, crumbled
• 85g/3oz #CommissionsEarned unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
• 30g/1oz pecorino, grated
• 85g/3oz plain flour
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 2 tsp freshly chopped thyme leaves
• 4 large free-range eggs, separated

 

For the second bake

• 75ml/2½fl oz double cream
• 30g/1oz pecorino, grated

 

Directions:

• Generously grease 6 ramekins with butter.
• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a low heat. Stir in the flour and mustard powder and mix well to combine. Cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually whisk in the milk, a little at a time, until you have a thick, smooth mixture. Stir in the pecorino and thyme, then remove from the heat to cool slightly. With the pan still off the heat, beat in the egg yolks and stir in the crumbled goats’ cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
• In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until they just start to stiffen and hold peaks. Using a large metal spoon, carefully fold the egg whites into the cheese mixture, retaining as much air as possible.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Gently spoon the mixture into the ramekins and place them into a deep roasting tin. Pour boiling water into the tin so that it reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
• Bake the soufflés for 20–25 minutes until they are golden and well-risen. Remove the ramekins from the tin and set aside for 10 minutes to cool.
• Run a knife around the edge of each ramekin, then turn out onto a lightly greased oven dish.
• About 15 minutes before you are ready to eat, heat your oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Pour the cream over the soufflés and sprinkle over the pecorino and a little black pepper. Bake for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the grill to high. Once baked, finish the soufflés by placing under the grill for a few minutes until the tops are lightly browned and crisp. Serve immediately with a green salad.

 

*Recipe Tips

You can even make them ahead to save time and nerves on the night – store in the fridge or freeze after the first cooking process and then bake again whenever you want.

 

 

 

 

 

It is a simple dish, but its flavours and textures are the heroes. The earthy sweet beetroot partners with salty blue cheese extraordinarily well.

Pearled spelt is a grain that can be used a lot like pearl barley or bulgur.

This recipe requires less than 30 mins Preparation time, 30 mins to 1 hour  Cooking time, Serves 4.

 

Ingredients:

• 100g/3½oz blue cheese, such as gorgonzola or creamy Irish blue cheese, crumbled
• 200g/7oz #ad pearled spelt
• 3 tbsp live plain #ad yoghurt
• 300g/10½oz vacuum-packed beetroot, steamed, ready-to-eat and chopped into small chunks
• 20g/¾oz fresh dill, finely chopped, plus a few sprigs to garnish
• 1 lemon, juice only
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• handful walnuts, roughly chopped and toasted
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Directions:

• Cook the spelt according to the packet instructions. It usually needs to be boiled for just under 30 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside.
• Place the beetroot in a bowl. Mix the spelt with the beetroot, then add the yoghurt, dill, lemon juice and oil. Season with about 15 twists of a pepper mill and add salt to taste.
• Toss the walnuts and blue cheese over the spelt and garnish with a few dill sprigs.

 

*Recipe Tips

The spelt keeps very well in the fridge for 2–3 days – the longer you keep it, the more intense the colour will become.