Salad Cheese, Not Just For Salads

20th October 2020

It’s the season where amber leaves are falling from the trees, darkness takes over early evening, the clocks go back and the temperature drops. With Halloween quickly approaching a range of pumpkins and squashes are in season, filling the supermarket shelves with their wonderful autumn colours. When we think of what meals we might like to prepare we want them to be tasty and filling, like a hug from the inside.

With the warm sweet taste of the pumpkin contrasting with the salty yet smooth texture of the salad cheese, this one is a real winner. This soup is also a great vegetarian option for any table or menu and is inspired by our team over in Denmark, Nordex Food Group, who simply make the best Cow’s milk Salad Cheese.

Pumpkin Soup with Salad Cheese and Grilled Corn

• 400g Salad Cheese
• 50ml whole milk
• 1 hokkaido pumpkin or other small squash
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 800ml Vegetable Stock
• 1tbsp cumin
• 5 stalks of thyme
• 2 corn cobs
• 100g quinoa (white or black, your choice!)
• 1 pomegranate
• A little vegetable oil for sautéing
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1, Deseed and peel the pumpkin. Chop the flesh into small cubes.
2, Cut the onion and roughly chop the garlic cloves. Sautee these in a tbsp. of oil on a low heat for 5-6 minutes until soft.
3, Add the pumpkin and cumin into the pan and continue to sauté for a further 2 minutes. Add in the warm stock and thyme stalks, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.
4, In another bowl, blend the salad cheese with whole milk until smooth and set aside in the fridge.
5, Boil the corn cobs for 12 minutes in salted water, once cooked, scrape the corn from the cob and set aside.
6, De-seed the pomegranate (handy hint: cut the pomegranate in half and tap the back of the pomegranate with a wooden spoon to release the seeds/fruit).
7, Boil the quinoa in salted water for 15-16 minutes and drain.
8, Remove the thyme stalks from the soup and blend thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you need to, add a little more broth for a less thick consistency.
9, Serve the soup into 4 bowls, top each with a generous spoonful of the cheese mix and sprinkle on the corn, pomegranate and quinoa.

There we have it, an autumnal warmer with plenty of character.