into the blue

      Well its been a while again hasn't it?  Aren't I getting bad at this.   I really should change that.... really I should but at least today I do have something a little different to share with you.  I was so kindly asked to review Castello's blue cheese. Castello is probably best know for their selection of blue cheeses ranging from traditional with bite to mellow and creamy.  Now, I was asked to try out a recipe they sent (Fig and Blue Salad) and gave me the option to create something I might like as well (Blue Cheese and Prosciutto Baked Figs).  I was excited when I saw the ingredients for the salad since I feel like there's nothing more classic then blue cheese and figs.  Its that whole salty sweet thing, am I right? I think so.
     Firstly this is probably one of the prettiest salads I've made in a while and just think for this winter season adding little pomegranate capsules would bring it right into a cheery holiday salad, which I might really need to do.
   So how did the salad taste then you ask?  Well, pretty much just as good as it looks.  The only thing I might change with it was that I found the crumbled blue cheese and blue cheese dressing combo a bit too overwhelming for my taste buds.  I'd probably either take out the crumbled blue or swap out the dressing for something more sweet to really make the crumbled blue bits shine.

  For my dish I decided to do something baked with the cheese and having left over figs I figured I'd give it a try and now I think I have a new found love for baked figs.  This combination of the blue cheese, prosciutto and honey in all its baked form was just too good. My mom even liked it and she's an  especially hard one to please.

What's your favorite way to eat blue cheese?


Fig and Blue Salad

6 fresh figs
selection of red coloured lettuce leaves (I used some green too as I liked the contrast)
50-75g fresh raspberries
1 pack (125g) Castello traditional blue cheese
4 tbsp olive or sunflower oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

1. Make cuts in the figs from the top down as if you were going to quarter them but leave the base intact so they remain whole. In  a dish arrange the figs over the salad leaves, scatter the raspberries and half to three quarters of the cheese crumbled over the salad.
2.  Place the oil, remaining cheese, lemon juice and seasonings in a blender and blitz until smooth and creamy.
Serves 2-4.

Blue Cheese and Prosciutto Baked Figs

6-8 fresh figs
30g blue cheese crumbled
3 sprigs fresh thyme chopped
6-8 slices of prosciutto 
honey & balsamic vinegar to drizzle

Preheat the oven to 325 c. Cut the figs in quarters but not cutting all the way down as to leave the bases intact. Add a good nob of blue cheese to each opening of the figs and sprinkle over the thyme in each. Wrap the prosciutto around each fig to keep them together and drizzle with the honey and balsamic vinegar. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is nicely melted and the honey and vinegar have caramelized a bit
Serves 4-8.