Homemade Curd Cheese with Herby Roast Beetroot

A RECIPE BY KATHY SLACK
Serves: 2 for lunch or 4 as a starter ● Prep time: 5 hours / overnight ● Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Making this cooked curd cheese by adding vinegar to hot milk feels like magic, but it’s very straightforward. You can flavour it however you like, but I’ve suggested bold savoury flavours here to complement the sweet roast beetroot. If you’d rather not make the cheese, you can use 250g of crumbly goat’s cheese instead.
method
  • 3 medium beetroot (approx. 400g)
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp Aspall Apple Cyder Vinegar 
  • ¼ tsp sugar
  • Small bunch of mixed herbs (basil, chives, parsley, mint would be ideal)

For the cheese:

  • 1.5ltr whole milk, ideally unhomogenised if possible
  • 1 tsp flaky salt
  • 3 tbsp Aspall White Wine Vinegar
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped chives
  • 1 large garlic cloves, crushed
  1. Heat the milk in a pan with the salt. As it gets close to bubbling (around 85 degrees) remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar. It'll begin to go lumpy. Cover with muslin and leave for 2 hours. Spoon the curds into the muslin lined sieve and leave to drain for at least an hour, or overnight in the fridge. Season the cheese with a little more salt if needed and stir in the chopped herbs, garlic and a turn of pepper to create a crumbly, green flecked mixture.
  2. Pre-heat the oven to 195C fan. Wrap the beetroot, whole and unpeeled, in foil to make a tight parcel and roast them in the oven for an hour and a half or until you can stab them with a skewer and they offer up no resistance. Unwrap and leave to cool then peel (the skin should just slub off) and chop into wedges.
  3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, vinegar and sugar plus a big pinch of salt. Roughly chop the herbs and add them to the bowl. Tumble in the beetroot and fold them into the dressing.
  4. To serve, scatter some of the cheese on a plate, pile the beetroot on top, then finish with some more crumbles of cheese and perhaps a few herbs if you have them to hand.
ingredients
  • 3 medium beetroot (approx. 400g)
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp Aspall Apple Cyder Vinegar 
  • ¼ tsp sugar
  • Small bunch of mixed herbs (basil, chives, parsley, mint would be ideal)

For the cheese:

  • 1.5ltr whole milk, ideally unhomogenised if possible
  • 1 tsp flaky salt
  • 3 tbsp Aspall White Wine Vinegar
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped chives
  • 1 large garlic cloves, crushed
method
  1. Heat the milk in a pan with the salt. As it gets close to bubbling (around 85 degrees) remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar. It'll begin to go lumpy. Cover with muslin and leave for 2 hours. Spoon the curds into the muslin lined sieve and leave to drain for at least an hour, or overnight in the fridge. Season the cheese with a little more salt if needed and stir in the chopped herbs, garlic and a turn of pepper to create a crumbly, green flecked mixture.
  2. Pre-heat the oven to 195C fan. Wrap the beetroot, whole and unpeeled, in foil to make a tight parcel and roast them in the oven for an hour and a half or until you can stab them with a skewer and they offer up no resistance. Unwrap and leave to cool then peel (the skin should just slub off) and chop into wedges.
  3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, vinegar and sugar plus a big pinch of salt. Roughly chop the herbs and add them to the bowl. Tumble in the beetroot and fold them into the dressing.
  4. To serve, scatter some of the cheese on a plate, pile the beetroot on top, then finish with some more crumbles of cheese and perhaps a few herbs if you have them to hand.

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