WHEN travelling overseas, especially to Europe, make room in your bag for cheese.
I learned this advice from fellow travellers, mostly seniors, in tour groups that I had joined, and in which shopping for cheese is a must when abroad.
At the Riga Central Market in Riga, Latvia, I watched with interest as co-travellers swarmed booths where dairy farmers were selling homemade cheese.
They haggled like most Malaysians would, found a price meeting point and headed off to the coach with their shopping in hand.
On that particular trip, my mum had discouraged me from buying just about anything and I only managed to sneak off to buy local honey, honeycomb and some nuts when she was kept busy at a spice stall.
However, on a recent trip to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, I had the liberty of buying a variety of cheese when visiting the Zaanse Schans neighbourhood.
While on a taste test, moving from one counter to another, I found myself leaning towards stronger tasting flavours that included goat’s cheese and even black garlic.
When at supermarkets these days, mature cheese is on my shopping list due to the more complex, nutty and smoky flavours of some varieties.
While they are excellent to snack on, aged cheese is remarkable when added to dishes.
A personal favourite is savoury cheddar or Parmesan in biscuits.
When shopping for aged cheese for the biscuits, look out for cheddar blocks and not pre-packed grated cheese.
Ageing develops more complex flavours and a firmer texture, while pre-packed cheese is rubbery, less intense and often flat.
Parmesan cheese is expensive. So, it is best to use aged cheddar for this recipe, which had friends and family wolfing down the biscuits in no time.
My advice is to double the recipe so that there is always extra in store.
As the late Anthony Bourdain used to say, “You have to be a romantic to invest yourself, your money and your time in cheese”, and I have to agree that some dairy products are just worth spending on.
Happy baking!
Cheddar biscuits
Ingredients
180g aged hard cheddar
125g unsalted butter
150g all purpose flour
2 tsp cracked black pepper
½ tsp sea salt
1 tbsp fresh thyme (or 1.5 tbsp dried thyme)
1 tbsp rosemary
¼ tsp chilli flakes (optional)
Parchment paper or cling wrap
Directions
For this recipe, good quality butter and block cheddar are must-haves.
Cut butter into small cubes. The butter should be at room temperature and easy to slice a knife through.
Shred the aged cheddar using the large holes on the box grater surface.
Scoop up and set aside in the chiller until ready for use.
Strip thyme leaves from the stem and mince.
Do the same with the rosemary.
Remove leaves from the stem and finely chop.
Place the cheese and butter in a mixing bowl, and mix on medium speed until combined.
In another bowl, mix the flour with black pepper and salt until evenly combined.
Gradually add the flour to the mixing bowl on low speed until a dough forms.
Place the dough on a wooden surface. Use a dough cutter and divide evenly in two.
Shape the dough into a ball but do not overwork it.
In one half, add chopped thyme and chilli flakes (optional). Add rosemary to the other portion.
Mix the herbs and spice together into the dough.
Cut parchment paper to roughly 16cm x 20cm and lay it out on a flat surface.
Place a small handful of the biscuit dough onto the middle of the parchment and roll the dough into a small log shape.
Fold the top part of the paper over the dough.
Place an offset spatula, resting on the folded part of the parchment paper. Then, gently nudge the paper inwards to compress the dough.
This will encourage the dough to take the shape of a log.
Alternatively, you may form the dough into a log using cling wrap.
Transfer the dough to the refrigerator and leave for about an hour to firm up.
Once the dough is firm, remove from the fridge and unwrap.
Using a sharp paring knife, cut the cold dough into thick slices.
Arrange on a parchment-lined baking tray, slightly apart from each other.
Bake in a preheated oven of 160°C for 20 to 25 minutes (depending on your oven).
Once biscuits are baked, remove from the oven.
Cool on a wire rack before transferring to an airtight container.
