Recipes
If you’re on the hunt for some festive foodie inspiration, look no further than British chef and TV star James Martin’s indulgent recipes. With a passion for cheese and a knack for creating delicious dishes, it’s no surprise that James, 52, has released his new book Cheese just in time for Christmas.
The host of James Martin’s Saturday Morning reveals that cheese is the ‘game-changing’ ingredient for mouthwatering starters this festive season. From a Tomato tart with Dolcelatte, Lamb fillet, fig and feta salad to homemade nachos with cheese sauce, these dishes are guaranteed to have your guests coming back for seconds.
And the best part? We’ve got three recipes listed below with easy-to-follow instructions so you can whip up some of James’ favourite cheesy delights straight from his new book.
Tomato tart with Dolcelatte
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 300g all-butter ready-rolled
- puff pastry
- 3 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 500g tomatoes (a mixture of
- colours and sizes looks good),
- sliced or quartered; smaller
- ones left whole
- A few sprigs of thyme,
- leaves picked
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 egg yolk, beaten
To serve
- 200g Dolcelatte (blue cheese)
- Dressed mixed salad leaves
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/ gas mark 6. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment.
2. Pop the pastry onto the prepared tray. Using a butter knife, mark a border all the way around, about 1 cm from the edges. Prick the centre all over with a fork.
3. Spread the mustard over the pastry and evenly top with the tomatoes. Sprinkle over the thyme, season with black pepper and brush the edges with the egg yolk. Bake in the oven for 20–25 minutes.
4. Serve dotted with pieces of Dolcelatte and the dressed salad leaves alongside.
Lamb fillet, fig and feta salad
Server 4
Ingredients
- 600g lamb fillet,
- cut into 1cm slices
- 12 thin slices of baguette
- 100ml olive oil
- 12 figs, halved
- 50ml champagne vinegar
- (or white wine vinegar)
- 1 tbsp water
- 50ml maple syrup
- 1 small radicchio,
- cut into wedges
- 4 Little Gem lettuces,
- cut into wedges
- 100g feta
Method
1. Dry-fry the lamb in a hot frying pan for 10 minutes until crispy, then spoon into a bowl. Fry the baguette slices in the same pan with half the olive oil until golden, then add to the bowl.
2. In the same pan, sear the figs, cut-side down, for a few seconds and add to the bowl.
3. Pour the remaining olive oil, the vinegar, water and maple syrup into the pan and warm through.
4. Arrange the radicchio and Little Gem wedges on a large platter, then spoon over the figs, croutons and lamb.
5. Pour the lamb fat from the bowl into the dressing and drizzle over the salad. Crumble over the feta and serve.
Recipes Homemade nachos with cheese sauce
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 4 large white tortillas
- 25ml olive oil
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- For the sauce
- 200g Cheddar, grated
- 100g Red Leicester, grated
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 500ml double cream
- 75ml maple syrup
- 1 tsp sriracha sauce
To serve
- Crispy bacon, chopped
- Guacamole
- Soured cream
- Tomato salsa
- Chopped coriander
- Sliced jalapeños
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 180°C fan/gas mark 6.
2. Cut each tortilla into eight triangles, then spread out in a single layer on a baking tray. Drizzle with the oil, season with the salt and bake for 5-6 minutes until crisp. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
3. Place all the sauce ingredients into a medium pan and warm gently over a medium heat, whisking continuously until all the cheese has melted.
4. To serve, pile the nachos into a bowl, then top with the cheese sauce, bacon, guacamole, soured cream, salsa, coriander and jalapeños.
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