10c Overcast.gif)
TV Chef Matt Tebbut on Collier's Cheddar
WHEN it comes to a making Welsh rarebit or turning out a cheese tart, there's only one choice for TV chef Matt Tebbut - Denbighshire-produced Collier cheese.
Matt, brought up in Cwmbran, runs the acclaimed Foxhunter restaurant in Nantyderry near Abergavenny with his Welsh-born wife Lisa.
He co-presents Market Kitchen on BBC2 and UKTV Food, is a regular on BBC's Saturday Kitchen, and launched his first cookery book, Matt Tebbutt Cooks Country, last year.
He's a passionate exponent of Modern British cooking, using only the freshest, seasonal, locally sourced ingredients within honest recipes designed to highlight those ingredients.
"The point of being in the sticks is to cook local food," said Matt. "It cracks down on food miles, everything is much fresher, you're supporting the local economy. It's the only way you should cook in the country, by cooking the things around you.
"I love using locally sourced products and I like the fact that Collier's Cheddar is made in Wales using Welsh milk. It has a unique taste which makes it the perfect cheese for cooking meals for all the family."
Having completed a diploma course in London with Leith's School of Food & Wine, Matt trained under Michelin starred chef, Marco Pierre White, working at The Oak Room and then The Criterion. He later moved to the kitchens of Chez Bruce, working under Bruce Poole, master of classic French food and leading advocate of ‘affordable excellence', before a stint at Sally Clarke's Kensington restaurant.
One of his strongest influences, clearly evident in the Foxhunter menu, is Alastair Little, pioneer of the non-stuffy, high-quality eatery and renowned for revolutionary freshness and flavour. Matt worked with Alastair at his Lancaster Road and Soho restaurants, celebrated for its no-nonsense British cooking, with a Northern Italian twist.
COLLIER'S Powerful Welsh Cheddar, made from Welsh milk in Llandyrnog Creamery, is available from major retailers.
For more information visit www.collierscheese.com.
Recipe for Matt Tebbutt's Collier Cheddar red onion tart
INGREDIENTS
400g short crust pastry
15g unsalted butter
2 small red onions, finely sliced into half rings
5 peeled cloves of garlic,
1 stick of rosemary finely chopped
3 eggs
140 ml of milk
140ml of double cream
100g of grated Colliers cheddar
Preheat oven to 190°C. Roll out the short pastry to about the thickness of a pound coin. Using the rolled pastry line a 25 cm flan case.
Line with baking parchment and pour in some baking beans. Bake at 190°C for 20 mins or so until golden. Remove the baking beans and paper.
Put back through the oven for another 5-6 mins until the base is browned.
Remove from oven, allow to cool. Turn oven down to 140°C.
Sauté the red onions and rosemary off in the butter until soft and translucent.
This will take about 20 mins. In another pan add the peeled garlic cloves and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 mins until soft. Remove and cool.
Now mix the eggs, cream and milk together and season. Lay the onions, thinly sliced garlic and rosemary in the base of the tart. Sprinkle in most of the cheese.
Pour in egg mixture and sprinkle over the rest of the cheese. Bake for 30 -35 minutes until just set. Remove, allow to cool a little to firm up before serving.
