The finest blue cheese in the world, and made to a fiercely protected PDO, ensuring the highest quality (Stilton is stilton only if made in Derbyshire, Leicestershire or Nottinghamshire, and with milk from cows from those counties), yet whilst we devour the cheese by the truckle at home at Christmas, many of us eat little of it outside this time. Indeed, much of the stilton we do eat in spring and summer is in restaurants, as clever chefs and cooks know how delicious and versatile this great cheese is.
Alas, with restaurants closed, sales have plummeted 30% these last months, and our producers are in trouble – if we want to ensure that this great cheese continues then we have a duty to eat it; see it as a delicious sense of patriotism if you will.
Yes, stilton is delicious on a cheeseboard, but think a summer salad of stilton crumbled into a dressing of 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise and 2 tablespoons of natural yoghurt, use to dress some crunchy romaine lettuce, and some crispy hot shards of Tempus charcuterie (the pancetta is perfect for this).
A light summer main dish of Stilton Souffle is light on the tummy, looks like you have made a real effort, yet is a breeze: beat the egg whites of four eggs until stiff, make 300ml of a classic white sauce, add two of the egg yolks (the other two you can use to make mayonnaise and the recipe above), and 150g of stilton. Then combine the egg white taking care not to knock the air out – spoon into an ovenproof bowl pretty enough to serve at the table and cook at 180C for 20 minutes until puffed up and golden. If this is the dish you are going to use to celebrate the end of lockdown (it will come!), then pair it with Villa Sandi Il Fresco: the bubbles will cut through the souffle beautifully – in fact, the Curd Nerd has been known to add a splash of Prosecco to his white sauce when making his soufflé…