Pizza Express delivered to your door by Deliveroo

Pizza Express is one of our favourite restaurants to eat out at as a family. We all love pizza and pasta, the dough balls are to die for and they are really child friendly. Pizza Express is now available to be delivered straight to your door by Deliveroo, so we decided to put them to the test.

This weekend was an incredibly busy one for our little family. I spent most of it out of the house working and the boys spent most of it in the park running about. We all arrived home on Sunday evening, tired, hungry and in need of a lazy few hours cuddling on the sofa in front of the TV. I was in no mood to cook, so we decided to order Pizza Express and have it delivered to our door by Deliveroo.

Deliveroo

I’d downloaded the free Deliveroo app a few weeks ago and every so often I had a little explore of what was available in our area. The app is really easy to use, choose the restaurant you would like to order from and just select what you want to order, pay for it and it’s delivered to your door by a friendly chap on a bike.

We ordered the Etna Pizza – a succulently spicy Romana recipe, where nduja sausage is paired with sweet and spicy roquito chilli peppers. The Etna is exclusively available for Deliveroo customers.

Deliveroo

I went for the Padana Pizza – goat’s cheese, mozzarella, tomato, caramelised onion, spinach, red onion and garlic oil. And the small boy had the Piccolo American Set Menu – dough balls, pepperoni pizza and a little brownie. We grabbed a side of crispy, fluffy Potato Nocciola too – we were hungry!

Deliveroo

The Deliveroo app helpfully has a countdown clock to show you where your order is up to – once it’s out for delivery you can even track your delivery on the map. I thought this was cool and my husband thought I was some kind of psychic – “our pizza is at the lights outside the nail bar in the village” etc.

Our meal arrived piping hot, I was impressed at how hot it was actually. The delivery charge is £2.50 and on a cold night when you’re all tired, I think it’s worth paying for delivery. The convenience of having someone hand you your meal half an hour after ordering it is a nice treat, and it’s always good to eat something I’ve not had to cook myself.

We all sat quietly munching through our pizzas. The small boy had the dough balls (always excellent), an American pizza, which was essentially a pepperoni pizza and a small brownie. He polished off every scrap and asked if we could have it for tea again – yes!

Deliveroo

My Padana was very filling, loaded with toppings but I thought it could have done with another few minutes in the oven to really crisp up the base.

Hubs had the Etna. He loves spicy things so this was perfect for him. He polished it off in double-quick time and like me his only criticism was it needed a little longer in the oven to crisp the base.

If I’m being picky – my favourite pizza wasn’t available (the Soho if you’re asking) and I couldn’t see a way to customise your order; so you can’t ask for no mushrooms for example. But we were all impressed and we would definitely order Pizza Express delivered by Deliveroo again.

The spicy Etna pizza is exclusively available for Pizza Express customers to order by Deliveroo mobile app, through the Deliveroo website or through the Pizza Express website.

This is a collaborative post.

Recipe: Goats Cheese & Caramelised Onion Galette

Hello Autumn. This wonderful season of mellow fruitfulness and crispy crunchy leaves has arrived, and my lovely quince tree is heaving with fruit. Normally I make a big batch of quince jelly with its fruit, but this year we have so many that I thought I’d cook with them too. I made a delicious Goats Cheese & Caramelised Onion Galette topped with quince – and it was oh so good!

Quince is an unusual fruit. It looks like a hard pear and is covered in fuzz. They’re not so much an eating fruit, but one you cook with. They’re most commonly found in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cookery. Quince are perhaps most famously used in membrillo, a delicious thick paste served with cheese from Spain.

galette

I’ve never made a galette before, I had one at a French cafe in Devon and thought that it would be a good thing to try at home. It’s a bit like an informal French tart. It’s very simple and a great thing to throw together on an Autumnal evening for a warming family meal. It looks pretty too doesn’t it?

galette

It’s very simple, it’s a shortcrust pastry filled with whatever you fancy. I went for goats cheese and caramelised onion topped with finely sliced quince in a fresh thyme pastry crust. If you don’t have quince you could slice and apple or pear over the top and it would probably be just as good.

Goats Cheese & Caramelised Onion Galette

Serves 6
Try this delicious informal French tart – the perfect thing for an Autumnal supper.

Ingredients
For the shortcrust pastry –
100g butter
225g plain flour
1 teaspoon of thyme leaves – I used fresh but dry would be fine
tepid water
pinch of salt
For the filling –
150g of goats cheese
1 large onion
knob of butter
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper
1 quince, cored and finely sliced
1 egg

Instructions
1. Make your pastry. Rub the butter and flour together in a bowl until they are like breadcrumbs. Add your thyme and salt and combine. Gradually add the tepid water a couple of spoons at a time into your bowl until you have a ball of dough that isn’t too sticky and wet or too dry. Wrap in clingfilm and put in the fridge to rest for half an hour or so.
2. Finely slice your onion and fry gently until soft and golden in the knob of butter. Once soft, season and add the sugar and balsamic vinegar and cook through. Set aside to cool a little.
3. Roll out your dough until it’s about the thickness of a pound coin and roughly the shape of a circle approximately 30cm in diameter. Place on baking paper on a baking tray.
4. Slice or crumble your goats cheese (whichever works best with the cheese you’ve chosen) and place it in the middle of the pastry, leave an edge around the sides of about 6 or 7cms so you can fold the pastry up to make the classic galette shape later.
5. Top the cheese with your caramelised onions and then fan your finely sliced quince (or apple or pear) in an artistic circle on top of the onion.
6. Take a pastry brush and brush beaten egg around the visible edge of your galette. Now take a look at my picture of the finished galette. You will need to bring the sides of your galette over the sides and covering the top, leaving the middle of the galette open. Fold the sides in sections, working anti-clockwise so they roughly overlap. Gently press the folds together. It is meant to look rustic.
7. Brush with the beaten egg and dot the quince slices on the top with some butter.
8. Bake in a pre-heated oven 200°c for 45-50 minutes until golden brown.
9. Once baked, remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes, and then serve.

Notes
This serves 6 for lunch, or 4 hungry people. I served my galette with new potatoes and salad.

My goats cheese and caramelised onion galette was delicious and easy to make. I really liked how rustic and hearty it looked, and it’s always good to bring something to the table which makes everyone’s tummy rumble. The French often make sweet galettes with plums and such like, I have a feeling we’ll be eating a lot of these versatile galettes this year.

galette

Preview: The Cake and Bake Show Manchester

This November The Cake and Bake Show returns to Manchester. This year it promises to bigger and better than ever before. Bringing the nation’s best loved bakers, chefs, TV personalities, cake experts and enthusiasts together under one roof in a celebration of all things baking.

Coming to EventCity in Manchester from 10-13 November 2016, the UK’s only dedicated baking show promises to deliver a lip-smacking line up of celebrities, demonstrations and exciting new products.

The celebrity line up features some of our Bake Off favourites, as well as top chefs and patissiers including…

Nadiya Hussain – Current title holder of the 2015 Great British Bake Off and the nation’s sweetheart
Eric Lanlard – master patissier, author, cake boutique owner and cake maker to the stars
John Whaite – TV chef, author, cookery school owner and Winner of the 2012 Great British Bake Off
Rosemary Shrager – TV personality, chef, author and cookery school owner
Jo Wheatley –Winner of 2011 Great British Bake Off and author

Cake and Bake Show

In the Cake and Bake Super Theatre and Baking Classroom there will be baking and cake decorating demonstrations, where some of the best experts in the decorating world will be sharing their skills.

When not learning new skills, visitors can head to the bustling Exhibition and Market Stands for baking and decorating innovations from leading experts, as well as an array of delectable foods from the finest artisan bakers and producers in the country.

There’s plenty of fun for children too as this year there’s a new and improved Kids Zone where little ones can try their hand at icing and decorating sweet treats. And don’t miss Roald Dahl’s much loved and ‘gloriumptious’ BFG, made by world record-holding sugar artist Jacqui Kelly and supported by Cake Decoration and Sugar Craft Magazine.

This year, the Cake and Bake Show has chosen Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity as their official charity partner. The Charity supports seriously ill children in the UK.

The Cake and Bake Show will be on at EventCity in Manchester from 10th-13th November 2016. For more information and to buy tickets visit The Cake and Bake Show website.

Recipe: Malty Malteser Butterfly Cakes

In my family, September is birthday month and this week it was my brother’s turn to blow out the candles. We weren’t having a big bash for him, but you can’t successfully have a birthday without cake. My brother loves Maltesers, so I thought I’d make him some quick and easy butterfly cakes, but with a Maltesery twist.

I’ve had a jar of malt extract lurking in my cupboard for a little while now, so I knocked up a standard sponge recipe and added a big dollop of the lovely malty stuff. Baked my buns until they were golden and whipped up a chocolate buttercream icing complete with a big bag of smashed up Maltesers. There was no room for candles, but at his age they’re verging on a fire hazard anyway!

Malteser Butterfly Cakes

The little Malteser Butterfly Cakes came out a little darker than a plain sponge would. This is because the dark malt extract makes the mixture darker. They’re not overdone, that’s their natural bronzed colour.

This recipe makes around 12 malteser butterfly cakes.

Malteser Butterfly Cakes

4oz Butter or margarine
4oz sugar
1 dessert spoon of malt extract
2 medium eggs
1 teaspoon of baking soda
4oz self raising flour

For the buttercream:
4oz butter
4oz icing sugar
1 tablespoon of drinking chocolate powder
10oz of Maltesers

1. Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy and the stir in the eggs and malt extract.
2. Carefully fold through the baking soda and self raising flour until combined.
3. Dollop into cake cases, there should be enough to make about 12 buns.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 190c for around 15 minutes. Once cooked leave to cool.
5. To make the buttercream, beat the butter, icing sugar and hot chocolate powder until soft and fluffy. Bash up the Maltesers and gently fold in.
6. Carefully cut a circle out of the top of each of your cooled cakes, cut the circle in two, dollop a teaspoon of buttercream into the hole and top with the halves to make them look like butterfly wings.

Malteser Butterfly Cakes

If you love butterfly cakes, you might also enjoy my Peanut Butter Butterfly Cake recipe.

Perfect Postal Presents from Devon Heaven Hampers

Every year we go for at least one holiday in Devon. To us Devon is a heaven on earth. With breathtaking scenery, gorgeous beaches, excellent country pubs, lovely walks and much, much more to be had, we struggle to find anywhere else to compare.

Two things have to happen when we visit Devon, firstly we have to have a cream tea (himself has it the Devonshire way, cream first, then jam. I have it Cornish style, jam first, then cream), and secondly we do a big Devon food shop, filling our car with local treats we can’t get at home.

When we first started visiting Devon 15 years ago, that would mainly be clotted cream, but that’s more available now. Hubs stocks up on local beers he can’t find in Manchester and top of my list is the best chilli jam in the world which you can only get in one tiny shop in Devon. Also on our list is fudge from Ilfracombe, Devonshire tea, homemade flapjacks, hard to find local cheeses and huge homemade scones.

I’ve often lamented during the lean months in between our visits to Devon that it would be good to have some kind of food parcel service for people who yearn for some Westcountry fayre. I was thrilled to discover Devon Heaven Hampers who have a huge range of hampers filled with Devonshire goodies, many of which have won Taste of the West Great Taste awards for quality and general deliciousness!

I’ve picked out three of my favourites from Devon Heaven Hampers

The Classic Devon Food Basket from Devon Heaven Hampers would make a fabulous Christmas gift. It’s a basket full gourmet food all locally sourced in Devon. The basket contains Georgie Porgie’s Puddings – Westcountry Cider and Apple Pudding and an Orange & Cointreau Pudding. Bags of Portlebay Popcorn and Burts Crisps, a bottle of Luscombe Organic Hot Ginger Beer, a jar of Onion & Pineapple flavour Devon Chutney from Otter Vale Products, Devonshire Clotted Cream Vanilla Fudge and some Willie’s Cacao – Milk of the Gods, all presented in a wicker basket. Priced at just £25 this would make an excellent present for someone.

For cider and scrumpy lovers, the Devon Cider Selection would be a treat. It costs just £28 and comes with free delivery. Cider lovers can enjoy a bottle of Jack Ratt Scrumpy in a traditional style flagon, a lovely bottle of Luscombe Organic Devon Cider, some Lyme Bay Sparkling Cider, and both Sandford Orchard Devon Red and Sandford Orchard Devon Mist. Cheers!

Last, but by absolutely no means least – the Devon vs Cornish Cream Tea by Post. Decide for yourself and settle the long standing debate between Devon and Cornwall – are cream teas better with jam or cream on top? Not only can you decide which is best, but you can also taste the difference between Rodda’s Cornish clotted cream and Langage Farm Devonshire clotted cream!

This fantastic hamper contains 4 Devon scones, Langage Farm Devonshire clotted cream, Rodda’s Cornish clotted cream, a jar of strawberry jam and Devonshire Tea and Cornish Tea Sachets, all presented in a wicker gift basket and delivered free of charge. The Devon vs Cornish Cream Tea by Post hamper is £23 and is the perfect gift for those who can’t resist a cream tea or three!

I know what I’ll be asking Santa for this year!

For more information and to see their range of gift hampers, visit the Devon Heaven Hampers website.

Curry Night with Patak’s Frozen Curries

Earlier this year Patak’s launched their new range of frozen curry ready meals. The meals in the Patak’s Frozen Curries range are beef madras, chicken korma, chicken vindaloo, king prawn balti, vegetable jalfrezi and chicken tikka masala. We were send some Patak’s frozen curries to put to the test.

One of our favourite takeaways is curry. The small boy really enjoys a chicken korma and I like a saag paneer. A takeaway curry for the three of us is about £25 and that’s a big chunk of money out of our weekly budget. We just can’t afford to spend that on one meal at home, so when we were asked to try the new Patak’s frozen curries we thought it’d be an interesting alternative.

Patak's Frozen Curries

We tried the chicken korma, king prawn balti and the vegetable jalfrezi. These are priced at £2 each and they are currently only available at Tesco.

The ready meals weigh 425g and consist of a portion of curry and a portion of rice. The Patak’s frozen curries can be pinged in the microwave or cooked in the oven, they are meant to be cooked from frozen.

In terms of calories ready meal curries are probably a bit healthier than takeaway curries. The chicken korma contained 604 calories, the king prawn balti contained 478 calories and the vegetable jalfrezi 501 calories. We bought some naan bread to have with ours to make it feel more like a takeaway treat.

Patak's frozen curries

The small boy had his usual chicken korma. It looked and smelt good and there were good chunks of chicken breast in the curry. He didn’t complain that it was different to what he normally had, and he presented me with a clean plate at the end. The chicken korma was a success.

Hubs went for the king prawn balti. The sauce was flavoursome and complemented the sweet prawns well. He did say that it wasn’t as hot and spicy as he thought it should be. It was a medium strength curry, but he said it was quite mild. There were a good number of prawns in the curry as well as some small pieces of vegetables. I think £2 for a prawn curry is great value.

I had the vegetable jalfrezi. I thought the portion size was good, I struggled to completely finish my meal which is always a sign of a hearty portion. Again mine was a medium curry and I braced myself for a hit of spice, but found none. It was probably the mildest jalfrezi I’ve ever had. Which may disappoint some, but I was fine with that level. The vegetable jalfrezi had lots of interesting veg including sweet potato, green beans and peppers. I would probably prefer chunkier pieces of vegetables but other than that I enjoyed it.

I often find that homemade or ready meal curries, though usually nice, they’re not quite the same as a takeaway curry. I thought these were really good value, at £2 each, especially compared to what we would pay at our favourite takeaway and with the chicken korma a roaring success we’d be happy to try the rest of the range to find our favourites.

Patak’s Frozen Curries are available from Tesco’s at £2 each.

We were sent our curries for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Review: Wagamama Spinningfields

Over the Bank Holiday weekend I hopped on the tram into Manchester in search of a good time and some noodles. The Metrolink had just that very weekend re-opened the St Peter’s Square tram stop, meaning visitors from the southside no longer had to schlep across town on foot, hallelujah. I met up with some friends and headed straight to Wagamama Spinningfields (via a cocktail bar) for a fix of noodles.

We thought we would try a couple of healthy juices before our evening began in earnest. I opted for the “positive juice” containing pineapple, lime, spinach, cucumber and apple and my friend opted for the “repair juice” containing kale, apple, lime and pear. Both were delicious and even though they contained spinach and kale they were both sweet and vibrant. We very much enjoyed them.

Wagamama Spinningfields

At Wagamama you order and it all comes out of the kitchen when it is ready, so you may be given your meal before your companion gets theirs, which is fine. We’d asked for our side dishes to be brought out first as starters and they arrived consecutively. This meant we could enjoy each dish separately as we were sharing them.

wagamama spinningfields

Greedily we ordered three sides to share – Mushroom onigiri, which were balls of sticky rice with mushroom, deep-fried in panko breadcrumbs and served with a spicy chilli and garlic sauce. They were similar to the Italian arancini, but smaller and tastier. They were soft and moist on the inside, slightly crunchy on the outside and bursting with flavour. These were a real winner.

The yasai steamed gyoza were five steamed yasai dumplings, served grilled and with a dipping sauce. I have these almost every time I go to Wagamama and these did not disappoint. Our final side was the crispy fried squid dusted with shichimi and served with a chilli coriander dipping sauce. The squid was soft and well cooked with a fiery hit of chilli, but not enough to make your Gran cry.

Wagamama Spinningfields

Onto the main courses and my friend was keen to try one of the new dishes on the Wagamama Spinningfields menu, the duck donburi. A donburi is a bit like the Korean bibimbap. It’s a big bowl of steamed rice stir-fried with shredded duck and mixed vegetables. Served with a runny fried egg on the top and side of kimchi. It looked absolutely delicious and once the egg had been mixed in it had a beautiful texture. My companion loved it and tried very, very hard to finish it all.

Wagamama Spinningfields

I opted for the yasai itame, a big fragrant bowl of rice noodles in a spicy green coconut and lemongrass soup with tofu and vegetables, stir-fried beansprouts, red and spring onions, bok choi, peppers, mushrooms and chillies, garnished with coriander and lime.

It was a bit like a Thai green ramen, spicy but with a tolerable level of heat for me. It didn’t skimp on the tofu and it was packed with vegetables. The broth was delicious, just thinking about it has my mouth watering now. If anything it was a perhaps a little heavy on the noodles for me, but I would definitely order it again next time.

Wagamama Spinningfields

For dessert we decided to share a piece of white chocolate ginger cheesecake. I rarely eat cheesecake, I think I’m still scarred from eating terrible frozen cheesecakes in the 80’s, covered in sickly sweet sauce and soggy defrosted strawberries, this was very different.

The base was gingery and crunchy, the cheese smooth and fluffy and it was served with a kick ass chilli toffee ginger sauce (pro tip, don’t dip your finger in the mysterious powder on the plate and lick your finger, it’s powdered ginger and will blow your socks off).

The restaurant was refurbished less than a year ago and is really fresh looking, there’s a large area where you can eat outside if you want. I like that it’s the kind of place I could happily go for a bite to eat by myself, with the small boy and his dad, or with a large group of friends.

We had a very, very good meal, the staff were excellent; attentive and knowledgeable, recommending we try certain dishes and suggesting great beers to go with our meal. We’ve been Wagamama fans since the first time we visited one over ten years ago, Wagamama Spinningfields does not disappoint.

Wagamama Spinningfields, 1 Spinningfields Square, Manchester, M3 3AP

We were invited guests of the restaurant, but all images and opinions are our own.

Review: Papa John’s new lighter pizza

Pizza night is always popular, but I am conscious that it is a slightly less healthy choice than a green salad. As a result I do try and order lighter versions whenever I can. Papa John’s has recently launched a lighter option for their pizzas, specifically for people who are conscious of what they eat, but still enjoy the occasional treat.

Papa John’s is now offering a lower fat cheese as an option on all of their pizzas. The lower fat light cheese contains one third less fat than regular cheese and I think it will be popular with a lot of people. There is always the worry that a slight change in the recipe will dramatically change the flavour of the pizza, so we put the new lighter cheese pizzas to the test.

Papa John's Lighter

We sampled two medium original crust pizzas with Papa John’s lighter cheese. I had the Mediterranean Garden Party – a pizza heaving with lots of lovely veg so at least you feel that you’re getting one of your five a day. Hubs had an “All The Meats” which suited him down to the ground. They were both made with the lower fat cheese instead of the standard cheese Papa John’s use on their regular pizzas.

Papa John's Lighter

It was Friday night at the start of a Bank Holiday weekend and we were all tired and needed pizza. We ordered Papa John’s and decided to picnic eat it in the garden to make the most of the sunshine.

The pizzas arrived and I opened them up to check they didn’t look any different from how they usually do. There was no difference. The cheese looked good, melted nicely all over and we couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

Papa John's Lighter

We all devoured our pizzas, the small boy shared ours and enjoyed them as much as he would normally. To me there was no noticeable difference in the taste or quality of the pizza (and I’ve been a cheese judge at the International Cheese Awards). If there’s no real taste or texture difference, and there is 1/3 less fat in the lighter cheese then that’s a bit of a no-brainer for me.

Papa John's Lighter

In future when we order pizza we will be ordering Papa John’s Lighter pizzas. We might even take another healthy step and go from original crust to thin crust. That one might take a bit more getting used to though.

For more information about Papa John’s Lighter options visit www.papajohns.co.uk

Stockport Foodie Friday – a fantastic festival of food!

Living in South Manchester, my local food festival is the increasingly popular Stockport Foodie Friday. This is a fantastic festival located in and around Stockport Market, and it takes place on the last Friday of each month.

I’ve been going with friends for the last few months and I’ve loved the child friendly, relaxed atmosphere. The range of interesting street foods, not to mention the market stall offering prosecco by the glass (a bargain £3 if memory serves).

The area outside the market hall is fringed with street food vendors, each with a small queue of hungry festival goers. Local bands entertain the crowds with live music which drowns out the gentle hum of the diesel generators which make it all possible. The pubs are filled with thirsty visitors and when the sun shines, the area is filled with relaxed and happy people, all contentedly munching away, bumping into people they know and happily soaking up the atmosphere.

I’ve been to loads of food festivals and apart from the range and quality of the food, one of the things I enjoy most about Stockport Foodie Friday is the convivial atmosphere. It’s like a relaxed village fete with something for everyone.

The last time I went I had an amazing veggie burrito from The Wrapscallion, the time before a Pad Thai from Somtam Street, and I can never resist a portion of hot churros with chocolate sauce. Both times I’ve been keen to try out the veggie dishes from Nasi Lemak Street Food, but both times they’ve sold out before I got there.

Each month there are old favourites as well as newer street food traders, indoors (where there is more seating) there are a few market stalls open as well as a bar or two. It’s a lovely evening out with friends and family. It’s great for kids and equally good with foodie loving friends who might enjoy a prosecco or a craft ale alongside their al fresco meal.

On the last Friday of each month you can usually find me chatting with old friends, making new ones, gobbling down some street food and quaffing prosecco by the glass at Stockport Foodie Friday. There’s plenty of parking and public transport nearby, the atmosphere is fantastic and the variety and quality of the food available is excellent. Stockport Foodie Friday is well worth a visit.

To find out more about Stockport Foodie Friday visit their website.

Stockport Foodie Friday

Parma Violet Cheese – love it or hate it?

Last month I went to the International Cheese Awards and joined the ranks of over 200 cheese judges to find the best cheese in the world. It was my second year of judging and I can tell you, I’ve tried plenty of weird and wacky cheeses in pursuit of cheese perfection. Firmly in the wacky category is this Parma Violet Cheese which is the result of a collaboration between The Cheshire Cheese Company and Swizzels Matlow.

Parma Violet Cheese

The Parma Violet Cheese itself is a waxed cheese, branded in the familiar Parma Violet colours and logo you’ll remember from your childhood favourites. I love Parma Violets, they are by far my favourite sweet so I was weirdly excited to try this new cheese.

The creamy Cheshire cheese has crushed Parma Violets blended through it and it certainly makes for a unique cheese.

Most people will be familiar with cheese with fruit flavours, I’m thinking of cheeses like Wensleydale and Cranberry, White Stilton and Apricots. Cheese with more floral flavours is starting to find its way onto our cheeseboards. During the judging I tried cheese with lavender in it for example. I don’t think floral cheese necessarily has mass appeal, but it is a novelty and an after dinner talking point.

I visited the Cheshire Cheese Company stand at the International Cheese Awards with my friend and foodie Claire from Good Egg Foodie. We were both equally keen and nervous to try it.

The cheese itself is nicely creamy and a good base for taking on added flavours. It is a slightly grey, very pale Parma Violet colour and it has a smooth creamy texture.

Parma Violet Cheese

At the International Cheese Awards I tried the Parma Violet cheese at room temperature and even I felt a bit challenged by it (and I’d tried lots of very unusual cheeses that day). Claire was not a fan at all, I think it might be the marmite of the cheese world, some like it, some really don’t.

I was given a 200g wax truckle to try at home and I admit it sat in my fridge for a week before I got the nerve up to try it again. I tried mine still cold from the fridge and I think that made a difference, it slightly muted the floral flavours and the texture was firmer and I ended up gobbling down a quarter of the truckle by myself.

It is a bit wacky, but if you like Parma Violets it could be just the novelty talking point your cheeseboard needs this year!

Parma Violet Cheese is available from a range of retailers priced around £6.99 for a 200g wax truckle.

Note: I was given this cheese to try by Swizzels Matlow, all images and options are my own.