Ploughmans Cheese Fondue Recipes

Steps:

• Heat together the beer, cheese and crushed garlic in a fondue pot.
• Cook gently, stirring, over a low heat until the cheese has melted. Stir in the butter.
• Blend the cornflour with a little water and add to the fondue pot. Add the mustard. Continue cooking until the fondue has thickened, stirring constantly. Season with pepper to taste.
• Transfer the pot to the burner and serve at the table with cubes of onion bread, chicken, ham and a little dish of chutney.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and dust a baking tray with a little flour. Tip the flour into a large bowl with the baking powder and a good pinch of salt. Add the butter and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles damp breadcrumbs. Add the cheese and thyme leaves, mix in, then pour in the milk. Use a cutlery knife to bring the mixture together as a soft dough - don't overwork it or the scones will be heavy.
• Tip onto your work surface, mopping up any dry crumbs with the dough. Pat into a disc about 1.5cm thick. Using a 5cm fluted cookie cutter, stamp out 12 scones (you may have to squash the scraps back together to get all 12). Place on the baking tray. Mix the remaining 1 tbsp milk with the egg yolk and brush over the top of the scones. Bake for 10-12 mins until well-risen and golden brown, then leave to cool a little on a wire rack.
• Just before serving, put the lemon juice in a bowl, cut the apple in half, remove the core, then very thinly slice into half moons. Toss the apple through the lemon juice as you go. Split the scones in half and fill each one with a couple of slices of apple, 1 tsp of chutney and a few sprigs of cress.

Steps:

• Pour the wine and lemon juice into a heavy-based pan over a medium-low heat and warm until steaming. Add all of the cheese, a handful at a time, whisking between each addition until all the cheese has been added. Continue to stir for 4-5 mins until everything is fully melted, smooth and creamy. Mix the cornflour with the kirsch in a small bowl, then stir this into the cheese mixture. Continue to cook over a low heat for a minute more.
• Rub the garlic on the inside of the fondue pot, if you like, then carefully pour the cheese mixture into the pot and immediately place it over the flame. (If you don't have a fondue set, add the garlic along with the wine in step one, then remove and discard it before you add the kirsch mixture.) Serve immediately with crusty bread, boiled new potatoes, vegetable crudités or cornichons for dunking, if you like. You can place the fondue back over a low heat if you need to reheat it after serving.

Steps:

• To make the pastry, tip the flour into a bowl with ½ tsp salt. Pour 200ml water into a saucepan and bring up to the boil, then take off the heat, add the lard and leave to melt. Pour the mixture into the flour, beat with a wooden spoon and work into a dough. Cut a third of the pastry off for the top and wrap in cling film then, while still warm, roll out the other two-thirds of the pastry to the thickness of a £1 coin. Butter a 20cm springform cake tin and line with the pastry, leaving a good amount of excess hanging over the side.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 with a sturdy baking tray in it. Make the filling by mixing all the ingredients, except the cheese, together in a bowl and season generously with cracked pepper and a little salt. Pack half the filling well into the lined tin, cover with a layer of cheese slices, then pack over the rest of the filling. Roll the remaining pastry out and lay on top of the filled pie tin, trim the edges leaving a little overhang, and save the trimmings. Crimp the pie all the way around the edge, then brush the top with the beaten egg. Score the top of the pie with the back of a knife to decorate then, using a small cutter, press a hole into the middle of the pie to let steam escape.
• Bake for 15 mins, then reduce the heat to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and cook for a further 50 mins-1 hr until golden brown. Leave until cold. Can be made the day before and kept at room temperature or chilled for two days. Wrap the pie well and take to the picnic in the tin, with a board and a large knife for serving.