BAKED BARON BIGOD CHEESE

Cheese-makers Jonathan & Dulcie Crickmore of Fen Farm Dairy have a favourite way to cook their Baron Bigod Brie at this time of the year. It’s very Christmasy but they love it all year round too. The recipe is one in a collection of recipes gleaned by The Courtyard Dairy in Settle, North Yorkshire, from the cheese-makers whose cheese they stock.

Ingredients:

• A big chunk of Baron Bigod Brie cheese (250gms approx)
• Crushed fresh garlic cloves (one or more, depending on how garlicky you like it!)
• A good slosh of white wine
• A handful of dried cranberries
• Crackers, breads and crudités to dunk

Method:

1. Make a "bowl" shape from tin foil and place the cheese inside.
2. Throw the other ingredients over the top artistically and close the top of the tin foil bowl so that it covers the contents completely.
3. Place the whole parcel on a baking tray to catch any drips and bake in a medium oven until the cheese is gooey and melted enough for dunking.
4. The baking time will vary depending on the size of your piece of cheese. (Approx 10mins for 250gms cheese).
5. Remove from the oven and get dunking!

BLYTHBURGH FREE-RANGE ROAST PORK SHOULDER

This free-range pig farm in Sussex produces real free-range pork. The pigs do actually roam free. Much of the so-called free-range pork on sale is not really free range at all. The piglets go inside once they are weaned and do not roam freely. This recipe from the Blythburgh website is an amazing way to cook pork. Try it for Christmas. It is so easy and so delicious and the meat just falls off the bone – you will not need a carving knife. 24 hours may seem a long time, but once the pork is in the oven, there’s nothing to do but let it gently cook, so it’s not really time-consuming at all.

Serves 6, Preparation time 10 minutes, cooking time 24 hours

Ingredients:

• 2 kg Blythburgh Free Range Pork, shoulder, boned, rolled and scored
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
• 1 pint chicken stock
• bunch of thyme

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 200ºC.
2. Place the pork in a roasting tray, rub the skin with oil and salt and sprinkle with fennel seeds.
3. Roast for 30 minutes, then lower the oven to 100ºC and cook for 23½ hours.
4. When cooked, remove the pork from the tray and drain off most of the fat.
5. While the pork is resting, add the stock and thyme to the pan and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Shred the pork and serve with the reduced stock and your choice of vegetables.

POMEGRANITE AND WALNUT SALAD WITH OLIVE OIL AND MOLASSES DRESSING

This recipe comes from Alexis Kerner, founder of The Olive Oil Workshop in Seville in Spain. Alex is a professional olive oil taster but she is also a good cook. This recipe make an unusual but excellent salad to counteract the excesses of the Christmas period.

Ingredients:

• Any mixed greens just no iceberg (I like to mix gem lettuce, rucola and mache)
• Walnuts (toasted if you like and have space on the stove top or oven to do so)
• Pomegranate seeds removed from the fruit

• 1/2 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I recommend Hojiblanca for its low bitterness and peppery aftertaste)
• 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (I used Modena but pomegranate balsamic or other flavor would be great)
• A scant tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of Molasses (I use a Spanish brand called Ingenio Nuestra Señora del Carmen)
• Salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon of each).

Method:

1. Put the greens in cold water so that they are nice and crisp when ready to serve.
2. Cut the pomegranate in half and beat with a wooden spoon on the outside to release the seeds.
3. Rotate the pomegranate in your hand as you hit the outside of the flesh. Let the seeds fall into a bowl.
4. Remove any fruit lining that may have fallen into the bowl. You only want the garnet colored seeds.
5. Wisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing.
6. Right before you are ready to serve, spin dry your lettuce leaves and put the salad together either in a bowl or plate

If you are interested in more recipes using extra virgin olive oil see “REMARKABLE RECIPES from the people who really know about extra virgin olive oil – the producers” at Amazon for kindle and for iTunes.