Recipes:

Thanks to Rebecca from Havelock North for her simple but delicious recipe using Te Mata Cheese Feta. You can add your own favourite recipe to our site too!

Warm Pumpkin, Kumara & Feta Salad

Ingredients:
Te Mata Cheese Feta (Bare Island, Flat Rock, Caprino - as much as you like!)
1  pumpkin, chopped into bite-sized chunks
1-2  large kumara, chopped into bite-sized chunks
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
Village Press olive oil

Method:
Preheat oven to 180ºC. Cut pumpkin and kumara up into cubes (any size you want) and place into an oiled roasting dish. Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of oil over the vegetables, sprinkle over pumpkin seeds and then cook until vegetable are tender (approx 1 hour). Allow to cool for a few minutes and then sprinkle chunks of feta over the vegetables. Season, toss, serve and enjoy! 


Oat & Barley Scones & Fresh Raspberry Conserve with Te Mata Cheese Bay View Blue ©Cuisine March 2007

Ingredients:
½ cup pearl barley
½ cup rolled oats
200ml milk plus a little extra if needed
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 cup white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
75g butter
Te Mata Bay View Blue to serve
 
Method:
Place the barley in a bowl, cover with cold water and leave to soak overnight. Drain and rinse well with fresh cold water.

Stir together the barley, oats and the milk in a bowl and set aside for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Sift together the flours, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs (this can be done in a food processor). Using a knife, gently mix in the barley mixture to form a dough (add a little more milk if the dough doesn’t come together easily). Turn out on to a floured board and gently roll out to a 1.5cm thickness. Cut out discs using a 6cm cookie cutter (gently knead the offcuts together and roll out again to use up). Place on a floured baking tray.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until cooked. Cool on wire rack. Serve with Te Mata Cheese Bay View Blue and raspberry conserve (recipe follows). Makes 16.



Fresh Raspberry Conserve
 
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups raspberries
¼ cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon raspberry vinegar (optional)

Method:
Place half the raspberries in a saucepan with the sugar and bring to the boil over a low-medium heat, stirring occasionally. Let boil, without stirring for 5 minutes or until syrupy.
Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining raspberries and the vinegar if using. Cool and refrigerate until needed. Makes ¾ cup. 


Eggplant, Goats Cheese and Pesto Stack
 
Ingredients:
2 eggplants
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
oil for frying
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
200g goats cheese (try Te Mata Cheese Summerlee)
2 red peppers, roasted, peeled and sliced into strips
basil pesto
1 bunch rocket leaves 

Method:
Slice eggplants to get a total of 12 slices around 2cm thick. Sprinkle with sea salt and leave to sweat for at least 30 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels. In a bowl whisk together the balsamic vinegar, oil and salt and freshly ground black pepper to make vinaigrette. Heat enough oil in a saucepan to enable the eggplant slices to deep fry. When oil is hot add eggplant and cook until both sides are golden. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. To assemble place a slice of eggplant on each plate (6), a dollop of Summerlee on each and cover with a few strips of pepper, ½ teaspoon pesto and a drizzle of vinaigrette. Top with another slice of eggplant and then a few rocket leaves, another drizzle of vinaigrette and pesto. Serve immediately. (from www.foodlovers.co.nz) 


Feta Wrapped in Vine Leaves with Pepper & Garlic Stew

Parcels of melting feta cheese topped with a fresh tomato dressing, served with a simple dish of pan-fried peppers, are a bit of a vegetarian show-stopper!

Ingredients:
16 large vine leaves (you may need more) or 400g jar preserved vine leaves, prepared as in the quail recipe
extra virgin olive oil
2 red and 2 yellow peppers, halved, cored, deseeded and cut into chunks
20 cloves garlic, peeled (use smallish cloves or large ones cut into halves or thirds)
300g Feta - Te Mata Cheese Feta (Bare Island, Flat Rock, Caprino) cut into 16 cubes

For the fresh tomato dressing:
3 medium vine-ripened tomatoes
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method:
Prepare the vine leaves first. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil. When the oil is hot, add the peppers and garlic. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until the garlic is tender and the peppers are wilting and lightly browned; increase the heat if necessary. Put aside until ready to use. Make the fresh dressing next. Chop the tomatoes and drain in a sieve for 10 minutes. Put 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a small bowl, add the juice and zest of the lemon, 1/4 teaspoon salt and some black pepper. Whisk until well mixed. Dry the feta cubes with paper towels. Wrap each piece of cheese in vine leaves, making sure that the cheese is well covered. Put the pieces on an oiled rack over an oven tray. Brush the leaves with extra virgin olive oil, and then grill on both sides until the leaves turn crispy and the cheese feels soft, about 4-5 minutes. Arrange the stuffed vine leaves on top of the pepper stew. Re-whisk the dressing and add the drained tomatoes. Spoon over the pepper stew and stuffed vine leaves and serve immediately. Serves 4.
(Julie Biuso, www.cuisine.co.nz) 


Whitebait and Pakipaki Goats’ Brie Soufflé
 
Ingredients:
100 gram Te Mata Cheese Pakipaki Goats’ Brie
Butter softened for greasing
50 gram Butter
2 egg yolks
30 gram Whitebait
5 egg whites
50 gram Plain flour
Salt and pepper
150 ml Milk
Lemon juice a few drops

Method:
Butter ramekins with soft butter. Melt the butter in a saucepan and slowly add the flour, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes a lightly coloured roux. Gradually mix in the milk to make a thick béchamel then add the Pakipaki Goats’ cheese and whitebait. Put this mixture into a metal bowl; fold in the egg yolks and season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile whisk the egg whites to soft peaks and add the lemon juice. Carefully fold the egg whites into the soufflé mixture. Add the soufflé mixture and tap on the work surface to expel any air bubbles and using a spatula, smooth over the top. Place the soufflés in an oven tray filled with boiling water and bake in the oven preheated to 180°C for 15-20 minutes.
Recipe- John Cornforth, Chef de Cuisine


Pania Vine Ashed Brie, Whitebait & Rocket Tartlet

Ingredients:
½ cup whitebait lightly floured
½ handful washed roughly chopped rocket
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Shortcrust pastry:
100 grams flour
Water to bind
50 grams butter
Seasoning

Method:
Sieve the flour and salt. Rub in the butter to a sandy mixture then add enough water to make a fairly firm paste. Rest for 10 minutes. Roll thinly and line muffin tin. Blind bake for 10 minutes or until slightly brown. Remove baking beans return to the oven to finish cooking.
Lightly sauté the ingredients in hot sauce pan and assemble into pastry cases. Also serve Te Mata Pania vine ash Brie as garnish.
Recipe- John Cornforth, Chef de Cuisine


"To me, cooking is an addiction that drives me to create..."

Click here for Summerlee (Goats’ Curd) & Te Ana (Cows’ Curd) recipes