Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 20 on 10/04/2005.

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A matter of common scents

Scotland has some excellent cheeses and some excellent cheese dishes. Sue Lawrence suggests some options

There is something incredibly alluring about molten gooey cheese – the sight, smell, taste, texture – all somehow make us want to smile in anticipation, which is perhaps why photographers use the word so much. And whereas in the past our taste-buds were accustomed only to melted Cheddar on toast, nowadays we have mozzarella on pizza, emmenthal in fondue, gorgonzola in pasta and even deep-fried camembert. One of the most comforting of all melting cheese in French cuisine is Aligot, a peasant dish of mashed potatoes with garlic and cheese, made in the Auvergne region of France.

Mashed potatoes are softened with cream and plenty of garlic, then mixed with a local mountain cheese – either Laguiole or Cantal, the latter one the of oldest French cheeses, having been made in the mountainous Auvergne region of France for more than 2,000 years.

There is also Croque Monsieur, France’s answer to our cheese and ham toastie. And deepfried camembert can in fact be a pleasing dish, when made into small elegant cubes and served with a fresh cranberry or gooseberry sauce. Scotland’s answer to gooey cheese dishes is that classic dish, rumbledethumps. This is a Borders dish of potatoes and cabbage, topped with cheese and browned in the oven.

I like to combine potatoes and turnip (swede) – both boiled then mashed – with cabbage which I stir-fry to retain its crunch and colour. My mother used to use turnip, potato and cabbage, though the classic recipe is only potatoes and cabbage.

The lovel.....

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By Sue Lawrence

Section : Scottish Food

Page number : 30