The International Cheese Awards are coming- let’s celebrate with a cheesy recipe!
It seems like only yesterday that I was at the International Cheese Awards last year, but here I am less than a week away and already dreaming about cheese!
Last year (see the review here) was won by a local company, Greenfields Dairy, which I was chuffed to bits about. Will the north, or even Britain, keep the title this year or will we be having a little cheesy Brexit? I hope not!
The 2015 judging – a sea of cheese…
If being in a room with over four and a half thousand cheeses sounds like your idea of fun, then why not visit on show day next week – the 27th July? The International Cheese Awards sit alongside the Nantwich Show so you can make it a full day out as your ticket gets you into both. You can also see James Martin, Sean Wilson and Will Holland cooking (with cheese!) during the day.
Book your tickets in advance at the Nantwich website and save a few quid- and deffo book in advance if you want to see Mr Martin- I hear he is always a hit!
I will be Instagramming fromage frolics all day on the 26th so check that out and follow the #ICA2016 hashtag or the awards themselves over on Twitter @icheeseawards for all the latest cheesy news.
Don’t forget, to share your favourite cheese producers with me here or on social media so I can look out for them.
In the meantime, I am sharing this simple method for taking feta to the next level. I was first introduced to baked feta though Anna Jones’ A Modern Way To Eat. She uses coriander and citrus zest. Since reading that, barely a week goes by in the summer where I don’t bake feta with one topping or another. This is my current favourite. 
Sumac is a citrusy / sour spice. You often see it sprinkled over rice in Lebanese places. I got mine from Spice Kitchen who are a fantastic business over on the Wirral – they made me a smaller packet than usual so I could try it and ground my za’atar in the same order because we broke the pestle and mortar! So check them out if you can.
Take your Greek salad to the next level with a creamy baked feta with citrus spice.
Ingredients
- 1 block feta cheese (approx. 200g)
- 1 orange
- 2 tsp sumac
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200c
- Place the feta on a piece of baking paper and put it in to an ovenproof dish in one piece (the paper will help with washing up)
- Sprinkle the sumac over the cheese, and then using a fine grater (I love my Microplane) grate an orange all over
- Pop in the oven for 12-15 minutes until hot and starting to fall apart. Keep a close eye on it as the top could burn
Enjoy in the best Greek salad ever or squished on to bruschetta. 
