After the Christmas break and Auckland Anniversary Weekend, we had a couple of odds and ends of blue cheese in the fridge. You know the ones I mean, that last bite that gets put back in, but is never appropriate to bring out when you have guests again. The repetition of this exercise meant we had a pile of ends of cheese, looking for a home.
These little blue cheese rolls are the best little home for leftover cheeses. They’re soft, fragrant and are just the right kind of crumbly. The buttermilk and herbs softens the pungency of the blue cheese, while the parmesan adds a robust depth. If you are buying a blue specifically for the recipe, I would recommend using the Kapiti Kikorangi creamy blue. It is piquant and smooth with plenty of flavour without the sharpness of some blue cheese.
I love to serve these as part of an antipasto platter with olives and salad. It makes a beautiful relaxed summer dinner or weekend lunch. Serve them straight from the oven with lashings of butter.
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tsp dried sage
- 100gm butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 200gm creamy blue cheese, chopped
- 1/4 cup walnuts halves, toasted and chopped
- 1/4 cup parmesan, finely grated
- Pepper
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray. Put the flour, baking powder, salt and herbs in a large bowl and combine. Grate the butter in the bowl and rub between your fingertips until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Make a well in the middle and add the buttermilk. Gently combine all the ingredients, and once the dough is almost combine, add the blue cheese and walnuts and incorporate. Tip the mixture onto the baking tray and gently roll into 6 rolls, squashing them gently down until about 5cm thick. Sprinkle the top with the parmesan and season with pepper. Cut each roll in a cross shape on top, careful not to cut all the way through. Rest for 20 minutes, to allow the dough room to breathe. Bake for 30 minutes or until well raised and golden brown. Best served with lashing of butters, and eaten the day it is made.
