Best Ever Cauliflower Cheese
Olive Magazine
There’s cauliflower cheese and there’s cauliflower cheese. This version, from Olive Magazine, perfects the classic, by which we mean it keeps things pleasingly simple while prioritising the all-important elements: mature cheddar, the charred, crusty bits on top, and tossing the whole thing through with nutmeg. Absolutely ideal comfort fare. Get the recipe.
Welsh Rarebit
Tesco
A really excellent Welsh Rarebit is more than just plain old cheese on toast. It’s a whole deep dive into comfort, with whisked egg, milk, Worcestershire sauce, English mustard and cayenne pepper for a warming kick. After a long, chilly walk – whether through magical winter woodland or simply home from work – there is nothing more guaranteed to pep the spirits nor warm the cockles. Get the recipe.
Baked Fondue With Potato And Pickle Dippers
Olive Magazine
Fondue, that staple of the 1970s, is associated with mountain life and après-ski for a reason. It is warming, it is comforting, and, on a cold day, we could practically dive straight into it. This one is a cheese feast in no uncertain terms, featuring cheddar, gruyère or Jarlsberg, as well as full-fat soft cheese and camembert or taleggio. Mixed with milk, cornflour and chives, serve it up alongside baby new potatoes, bite-sized gherkins and baby silverskin pickled onions. Et voila: off-the-scale comfort. Get the recipe.
Spicy Cheddar Cheese Straws
Never Not Hungry
If you’ve ever marvelled at the beauty of your favourite deli’s cheese straws, it might perhaps be time to rustle up a few of your own. These spicy examples prove that they are much easier than one might imagine to make. As blogger Never Not Hungry simply describes her creations, ‘Store-bought puff pastry, layered with paprika and spicy cayenne, and stuffed with as much cheddar cheese as they can hold. Plus salty Parmesan because more cheese is better.’ Easy as pie and perfect offered round with a tray of drinks at aperitivo hour. Get the recipe.
Deep-Fried Olives Stuffed With Ricotta And Guindilla Chilli
Olive Magazine
An olive is always a good idea as accompaniment to a round of cocktails. Olive Magazine’s deep-fried example, however, takes matters to a whole new level, stuffing said salty bites with fiery ricotta – an ideal little concoction for the round of festive drinks parties headed our way. Cheese is often a great source of comfort, but it can, as these beauties attest, denote great sophistication too. Get the recipe.
Classic Macaroni Cheese
Great British Chefs
If you’re going to make macaroni cheese – which, while we’re here we must insist on calling macaroni cheese as opposed to the transatlantic import of mac and cheese – then you might as well go all out. This one contains three cheeses – Gruyère, Red Leicester and mozzarella, as well as Parmesan on top – as well as milk, Dijon mustard and cream. It could not be silkier nor heartier. Serve it with a nice spicy glass of red wine and, afterwards, do not attempt to move for several hours. Get the recipe.
Classic Cheese Scones
BBC Good Food
Teatime may be most associated with life’s sweeter treats but, if you’re rustling up a spread to share alongside a pot of Earl Grey, don’t neglect the humble cheese scone. Unaccountably moreish, we love them best straight from the oven spread with a generous slick of butter, though they can also be great alongside a winter soup too. Get the recipe.
Kentish Apple And Cheese Pie
Borough Market
Purportedly a favourite of Charles Dickens, we adore the sweet and salty flavour balance at play here. Have you ever eaten slices of apple with cheddar? If not, you must do so immediately, the tart yet sweet freshness pairing beautifully with the tangy salt of mature cheddar. This dish plays on that precise taste combination, while adding sugar and nutmeg and encasing the whole lot in shortcrust pastry. An absolute winter winner. Get the recipe.
