What delicious dishes can be prepared with cheese?
Such a dairy product as cheese goes well with various ready-made dishes, is an excellent snack, is appropriate in the cuisines of different peoples of the world, and also brings great benefits to the body. There are hundreds of dishes that require the addition of this product, but many people think that the use of such an ingredient adds complexity to the cooking process. However, this is not the case, and even a non-professional chef can create real culinary masterpieces from cheese. About which recipes from this product are the most popular, how to properly prepare salads and hot dishes, as well as the secrets of using stale cheese will be described in detail in this article.
Simple and delicious recipes for appetizers and salads
The most popular and easiest for beginners in the field of cooking are various salads. They are mainly dishes with a combination of cheese, vegetables and sometimes meat components. The main advantage of salads is that they can be prepared quite quickly, and it is much more difficult to spoil such a dish than fried or baked products with cheese.
Another important advantage is that the cheese in the salad is not subjected to heat treatment. Therefore, it retains a maximum of vitamins and healthy substances that are originally present in it. In combination with vegetables, all the elements that cheese is rich in are often absorbed by the body even better.
Thanks to the cheese in the salad, the dish becomes more satisfying. This is convenient for those who count calories or stick to fractional meals.
There are a number of light salads and snacks that have gained immense popularity among the inhabitants of our country and fans of foreign cuisine. For example, an Italian salad called Parmigiano, light and delicate in taste, will be the perfect dish for dinner.
To prepare it, you need to follow the following strategy:
- first you need to fry one eggplant, cut into thin slices and breaded;
- about 5 cherry tomatoes must be cut into quarters;
- then spread these slices of tomatoes on lettuce leaves;
- take 70 grams of Mozzarella and cut this piece into small cubes;
- add this ingredient to the tomatoes and salad along with the cooled eggplants;
- dressing for the dish is made from the grated pulp of one tomato, to which one teaspoon of olive oil and balsamic vinegar are added. Salt is also poured into the sauce to taste;
- when the dressing is added to the main ingredients, you can still pour balsamic glaze on top of the dish. Also, for spice, a little grated Parmesan is added on top.
An excellent snack option for a festive feast will be tartlets with salad. As a filling, the option with crab sticks, as well as melted cheese, is suitable.
It is done like this:
- first you should finely chop a couple of boiled eggs;
- crab sticks or meat in the amount of one hundred grams should also be chopped, making pieces in the form of cubes;
- 70 grams of processed cheese can either be cut into small pieces with a knife, or use a coarse grater;
- one or a couple of cloves of garlic must also be chopped and added to the rest of the ingredients;
- a bunch of greens will be an excellent addition to the appetizer, it must be thoroughly washed and finely chopped;
- then salt the dish, take mayonnaise in the amount of three tablespoons and season the salad;
- Transfer the dish to tartlets just before serving. Otherwise, the dough may become too saturated with the contents.
Fans of unusual recipes that combine seemingly incompatible ingredients will love the cheese salad mixed with apples and mushrooms.
It is prepared according to the following scheme:
- first, the apple is peeled and chopped into small bars;
- pickled boletus, taken in the amount of 60 grams, is cut in the same way;
- about 10 grams of green onions should be chopped with a sharp knife;
- then 40 grams of hard cheese, such as Parmesan, is cut into cubes, and it is added to the rest of the ingredients;
- as a dressing, you can use mayonnaise in the amount of one tablespoon.
Ingredients listed are per serving. Depending on the required volume of salad, the proportions can increase several times.
Hot dishes
In addition to light dishes for an aperitif, you can cook more complex hot dishes from homemade, smoked, hard or soft cheese. In this kind of culinary masterpiece, cheese is usually not the main component, but it gives a special flavor and tenderness to meat, vegetables and other ingredients used.
Among the most delicious and nutritious hot dishes, it is worth noting pasta with cream sauce.
It is prepared quite simply, but at the same time it has a rich delicate taste:
- take 150 grams of spaghetti and boil them in a saucepan.Cooking costs approximately 7 minutes;
- in the meantime, fry 150 grams of diced ham in butter in a frying pan. Fry should be no more than three minutes;
- then 100 ml of cream is poured into the pan, the fat content of which should be 15%. You can add some salt, but be careful with this ingredient, as both cheese and ham are salty;
- also in the pan it is worth putting one clove of pre-chopped garlic and grated hard cheese in the amount of 50 grams;
- For about three minutes, it is necessary to simmer the mixture on fire until its components thicken;
- then, using a slotted spoon, put the pasta into the pan, keep it on fire for several minutes with the sauce, mixing the ingredients, and then turn it off and serve.
A fairly simple recipe for a hot dish with lots of cheese is potato casserole. Its feature is cooking directly in the pan, without using the oven.
This dish is made as follows:
- at the first stage, you need to peel and chop 5 potatoes on a coarse grater;
- then the mixture is made, which will be the basis for the casserole. To do this, 1 finely chopped onion, a tablespoon of flour, one egg, and coarsely ground salt are added to the potatoes. All components are thoroughly mixed with each other;
- Next, you should heat the pan and pour 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil into it. Then transfer the potato mixture to the pan and level it;
- for a quarter of an hour, this mixture must be fried, and then turned over to the other side when the first side becomes golden;
- on the other side, the cake is also fried for a quarter of an hour;
- when the dish is ready, sprinkle it on top with 100 grams of grated cheese.
An excellent hot breakfast will be such a dish as "lazy" khachapuri. The main advantage of this cheese breakfast is the speed of preparation, which is so important in the morning.
The recipe consists of the following steps:
- first chop half a bunch of dill with a knife;
- further, 200 grams of hard cheese must be grated on a large shredder;
- then these two ingredients are combined in a bowl with a couple of chicken eggs, two tablespoons of flour and sour cream, taken in an amount of two hundred grams;
- the ingredients thoroughly mixed together should be laid out in an even layer in a well-heated pan with vegetable oil;
- The first side must be fried over low heat. In this case, the lid of the pan must be closed;
- Turn the cake over after 5 minutes. The same amount of it must be fried on the other side, only this time the pan does not need to be covered with a lid;
- you just have to serve the dish on the table and cut it into portions.
What can be cooked in the oven?
Even more sophisticated recipes using cheese are obtained in the oven. You can bake both dough dishes and meat. Many also like to experiment by combining cheese with vegetables when baking.
One of the interesting options are "boats", which are based on a combination of cheese and pepper:
- First of all, one onion should be fried in a pan. This process takes approximately 3 minutes;
- further, finely chopped carrots are added to the onion and also fried until soft;
- then reduce the heat and add 200 grams of diced mushrooms to the pan;
- after about 4 minutes, put 150 grams of smoked meat, also cut into square pieces, into the mixture. You also need to add ingredients such as salt and pepper;
- then mix everything thoroughly and turn off the fire;
- while the filling has not cooled yet, grate 100 grams of hard cheese on top and mix again;
- Cut the bell peppers in half, remove the seeds and fill them with stuffing. It is also worth putting a little grated cheese on top;
- in an oven preheated to 190 degrees, you need to place vegetables for 20-25 minutes;
- This dish is served hot to the table.
A favorite recipe for the whole family can be a cheese pie with ham.
It has a nice mild flavor and is fairly easy to make in the oven using the following recipe:
- to make the filling, first of all, ham is crushed, taken in an amount of 0.4 kg. It is cut into thin slices;
- then 300 grams of hard cheese is crushed on a coarse grater;
- the pulp of one large tomato must be cut into cubes;
- next, using a mixer, you need to beat two eggs mixed with a teaspoon of salt. You can reduce the amount of salt if the cheese is salty;
- after that, 0.5 liters of milk, 125 ml of vegetable oil, about 300 grams of flour, and 100 grams of cheese must be poured into this mixture. Don't forget to add 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder;
- use a mixer to make the dough homogeneous;
- then prepare the cake pan by brushing it with butter and flour;
- pour the dough into the mold so that its layer does not exceed 10 mm in thickness;
- lay out the ham, and then sprinkle it with cheese for the filling;
- then put the tomatoes, it is advisable to sprinkle them with oregano seasoning;
- the remaining dough must be poured on top;
- the dish is baked for 40 minutes in an oven heated to 180 degrees.
How can stale cheese be used?
Sometimes cheese, bought in large quantities, is stale and is no longer so tasty in its pure form. However, this does not mean that you need to throw away the product. From such leftovers of old cheese, you can cook dishes that will become delicious additions to your table.
One interesting option is to create striped cheese in milk. If you boil it for a short time in boiling milk, and then cool it in it, you can get an interesting product that will be melted on top and fresh inside.
Also old cheese can be used for soup. When in contact with boiling water, even tough areas soften, and the taste of the dish does not deteriorate at all when this ingredient is added. And the consistency of the soup, on the contrary, becomes more tender.
Some people prefer to grind hard, stale cheese into crumbs and add them to flour when creating a dough. The result can be a very tasty cheese pastry.
In order not to harm your health when using cheese, you need to know the difference between a stale and expired product. As a rule, the smell of stale cheese changes, it often does not just harden, but becomes covered with mold. Therefore, before using such a product, make sure that it is still edible.
How to cook potato sticks with cheese, see the following video.