Carrigbyrne St. Killian Farmhouse Cheese Pithivier

IRISH FOOD WRITERS GUILD AWARDS WINNER: CARRIGBYRNE ST KILLIAN CHEESE

Made in County Wexford by the Berridge family since 1982, the camembert style Carrigbyrne St Killian is one of Ireland’s longest-established and best-loved farmhouse cheeses, and is easily recognised by its trademark hexagonal box- which is secure and light, making it an ideal gift purchase at airport shops.

Appreciated by cheese lovers for its consistent high quality, Carrigbyrne is one of the most widely available Irish farmhouse cheeses; always on sale in specialist shops and leading supermarkets in Ireland and the UK (Tesco, Dunnes, Superquinn, Supervalu, M&S, Waitrose) and also Metro in Germany - one of their strongest areas of growth.

These tasty morsels are very versatile, making unusual bites to serve with drinks, or as a starter – and would also make a delicious savoury to finish off a good meal. This recipe was put together by Derry Clarke of l'Ecrivain Restaurant.

Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS

280g Carrigbyrne St. Killian farmhouse cheese
50g celery, diced
50g apple, diced
200g spinach leaves, blanched
1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped
200g puff pastry, rolled and cut into 10cm circles
1 egg, beaten

METHOD

Blanch the diced celery until tender and place in a bowl with the diced apple; add the chives and the Carrigbyrne St Killian cheese and mix until soft. Place in the fridge to rest.

Lay blanched spinach leaves out flat, place one tablespoon of the cheese mixture in the centre of each one and wrap carefully. (The spinach keeps moisture from soaking into the pastry). Repeat the process to use all the spinach leaves and cheese mixture (should make about 8).

To assemble the Pithivier:

Roll out the pastry to ½ cm thickness and cut it into 10cm circles, allowing one round per portion.  Place a spinach wrapped cheese bundle in the middle of each pastry round.

Brush the edges of each round with beaten egg. Place another round of pastry on top to form a lid and seal the edges by pinching the pastry together. Brush the top with the remaining egg.

Bake in a moderate oven preheated at 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve the Pithiviers warm.