Cheese

Hot & Tasty Tomato Cheesy Dip

Ingredients

2 French baguettes or crackers

2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved

1 ¼ cups Mozzarella cheese, freshly grated

¾ cup parmesan cheese, grated

⅓ cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

16 oz Lamblicious goat cream cheese

5 cloves garlic, crushed

4 tbsp Lamblicious Italian Herb & Garlic olive oil, divided

½ tsp dried oregano

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 425º F.

Combine tomatoes, garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper in a large bowl and toss together until everything is thoroughly coated.

Transfer tomato mixture to an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet and place in oven.

Bake for 15-17 minutes, tossing in the middle, until tomatoes are charred.

In a bowl or mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth, then mix in mozzarella and parmesan.

Remove tomatoes and garlic from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes. Transfer to food processor, add basil, and pulse until smooth. 30-45 seconds.

Fold pureed tomatoes into blended cheeses and pour into individual ramekins or a large skillet.

Place in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until bubbly.

While dip is in the oven, brush baguette slices with remaining olive oil.

Remove dip from oven and turn broiler on high.

Place bread slices directly on oven rack and toast for 2-3 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they burn easily.

Transfer bread slices to serving plate and serve hot with dip.

Grilled sheep’s milk cheese in a tomato and teriyaki coating

Ingredients

400 g 2 sheep’s milk cheeses (200 g each)

810 tbsp Teriyaki marinade & sauce

56 tbsp tomato puree

2 tbsp sesame seeds

1 1 yellow and 1 green courgette

1 onion

250 g cherry tomatoes

4 rosemary sprigs

Directions

Cut the sheep’s milk cheeses in half. Stir together the Teriyaki marinade & sauce and the tomato puree. Put the sheep’s milk cheese into the marinade and then roll them in the sesame seeds. Wash the courgette and cut it into thin sticks. Peel the onion, halve it and cut it into small cubes. Wash and halve the cherry tomatoes. Take four adequately sized pieces of aluminium foil, put a mixture of sheep’s milk cheese, courgette, onion, cherry tomato and rosemary on each, fold the edges together to make parcels and cook on the barbecue for approx. 15-20 minutes.

EASY 7 LAYER GREEK TZATZIKI DIP

Ingredients

TZATZIKI SAUCE

1 cucumber peeled seeded halved

½ tsp salt

1 cup Greek yogurt

½ cup sour cream

1 ½ tbsp dried dill

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 cloves garlic minced

LAYER DIP

Olive oil cooking spray

4 oz red pepper hummus

1 cup black olives

1 cup chopped cucumbers

¼ cup finely chopped red onion

4 oz crumbled Feta cheese

Pita chips

Directions

Place cucumber in colander in sink. Sprinkle with salt on both sides. Let them sit for 30 minutes turning several time. Dry with paper towels and finely chop.

In medium bowl combine chopped cucumber, yogurt, sour cream, dill, lemon juice and garlic. Cover and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Spray medium casserole dish with olive oil. Spread with hummus, Tzatziki Sauce, kalamata olives, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, red onion and Feta Cheese. Refrigerate for 1 hour to overnight. Serve with Pita Chips.

Lamb-Feta Burgers with Tzatziki

Ingredients

TZATZIKI:

1 cup grated seedless cucumber

½ cup nonfat Greek yogurt

1 tsp garlic paste

½ tsp grated lemon zest

1 tbsp lemon juice

¼ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp Black pepper

BURGERS:

1 ¼ lbs lean ground lamb

3 oz feta cheese

2 tbsp grated fresh onion

2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano leaves

½ tsp garlic paste

½ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp Black pepper

1 small zucchini

1 yellow summer squash

4 pita breads

4 butter lettuce leaves

4 slice tomato

Directions

Tzatziki: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

Burgers: In a large bowl, gently combine lamb, feta, onion, oregano, garlic paste, salt, and pepper; form into 4 (1-inch-thick) patties. Refrigerate burgers.

Prepare an outdoor grill with a medium-hot fire (or heat a stovetop grill pan over medium heat). Lightly coat burgers and squash slices with olive oil cooking spray. Grill burgers 9 minutes, turning once or twice, for medium-rare doneness. Grill squash slices 2 minutes per side, until tender, and pita breads 1 to 2 minutes, until lightly toasted.

To assemble, place lettuce and tomato slices on half of the pitas, then top with a burger, some tzatziki, and grilled squash slices. Top with remaining pita. Serve with extra tzatziki on the side.

Potato Gratin with Sheep Cheese

Ingredients

300 ml full-fat milk

500 ml double cream

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 kg potatoes (maris piper, king edward or another floury variety), very thinly sliced

200 g sheep’s cheese, crumbled

Directions

Heat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/gas 3½. In a medium jug, mix the milk and cream with the garlic. Arrange 2 layers of potato slices in the bottom of the gratin dish, season with salt and pepper, then pour over some of the milk mixture and sprinkle over some of the cheese. Continue adding layers of potatoes, cream mixture and cheese, seasoning as you go (there should be enough liquid to cover the potatoes).

Bake for 1 hour until the potatoes are tender and the sauce is bubbling. If the top isn’t crisp and you’d prefer it so, put it under a hot grill for 10 minutes to finish.

Tips: Go to a good cheese shop for your sheep’s cheese. If you don’t have one near you, a soft, rinded goat’s cheese would work. The gratin won’t be smooth like a dauphinois – it will have a more ricotta-like, lumpy texture.