September’s cheese of the month is…
Cornish Blue
Cornish Blue Cheese is a truly artisan handmade cheese, produced from milk supplied by the Stansfield’s family farm on the edge of Bodmin Moor near Liskeard in Cornwall. As a handmade product, much of the skill in producing the cheese lies with a highly trained team of artisan cheese makers. Cornish Blue is a vegetarian, pasteurised, cows’ milk cheese which is dry salted by hand before being left to mature for between 12 and 14 weeks to enable the cheese to achieve its full character and flavour.
In 2010 Cornish Blue was named World Champion Cheese at the World Cheese Awards and in 2018-19 took the Super Gold Award.
This month we have used this exceptional cheese in a rich and flavourful tomato soup recipe. The tangy blue cheese combines beautifully with sweet tomatoes. This hearty soup is a whole meal in itself.
September’s recipe is:
Tomato and blue cheese soup
Ingredients:
- 1tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped
- 200g Cornish Blue, crumbled
- 100g mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1tsp paprika
- 2 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 1 x 400g red kidney beans, drained
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- 100ml double cream
- salt and pepper to season
Method:
- Heat the oil in a pan and cook the onion slowly until softened. Add the garlic, peppers and mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes. Stir in the paprika.
- Pour in the chopped tomatoes and kidney beans. Add the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes until thickened and all vegetables and beans are very soft.
- Allow to cool slightly, liquidise in a blender until smooth, then return to the heat. Add in the crumbled Cornish Blue cheese, reserving a small amount to sprinkle on top of the soup when served. Pour in double cream and stir gently over a low heat until the cheese has melted.
- Serve with crusty bread and sprinkled with a little extra Cornish Blue.
