Nathan Eades Recipe | Old Winchester Cheese Tart

Nathan Eades, Executive Head Chef of New Forest restaurant The Terrace, shares his recipe for his 'Old Winchester Cheese Tartlet with Roscoff onion, pickled walnuts and yeast flakes'.

The star of the show in this recipe is a multi award-winning cheese from one of our local Hampshire cheese makers, Lyburn. Reminiscent of an old gouda, Old Winchester has a distinctive nuttiness and is made with a vegetarian rennet, making it the ideal vegetarian substitute for a hard Italian cheese.

This stunning dish makes for the perfect starter when wanting to impress at your next dinner party. 

 

Serves: 4 as a starter 

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

 

Ingredients

Tartlet case:

• 2 sheets of brick pastry (you can use filo if you can’t get brick)
• 50g Butter 
• 1 tsp of Smoked Paprika 

Onion compote:

• 1kg of white onions 
• 100ml cold pressed rapeseed oil
• 1 clove of garlic 
• Sprig of thyme 

Walnut pesto:

• 40g roasted walnut halves
• 20g old Winchester cheese
• 1/2 a clove of garlic
• 40ml of walnut oil (any good quality oil will work)

Bechemel sauce:

• 50g unsalted butter
• 50g of plain flour
• 200ml of whole milk
• 1 tsp English mustard
• 100g old Winchester cheese
• Salt and pepper to season

Pickled walnut puree:

• 3 jars of Opius pickled walnuts - strained and blended 

Toasted yeast flakes

• 30g dried yeast flakes (available at health stores)
• 10g of unsalted butter

• Chopped chives and chive flowers for garnish

 

Method:

1. Tartlet case.

Heat the butter over a medium heat until it turns golden brown. Let it cool. Paint the 2 sheets of brick pastry with the butter and sprinkle over the paprika. Sandwich the 2 sheets together and allow to set for an hour. Cut to desired shape and mould into a small tartlet tin. Bake in an oven at 180 for 8 minutes

2. Onion compote 

Finely slice the onions. Over a medium heat sweat the onion for 5 mins and then add the garlic and thyme. Cook until golden brown. Set aside.

3. Walnut pesto 

Put the walnuts and garlic into a mortar and pestle and grind into a paste. Finely grate the cheese. Add all ingredients together.

4. Bechemel sauce

Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Add the flour and cook out for 10 mins. Be careful not to burn it. Gradually add the milk in small stages - 40-50ml at a time. Allow to cook over a low heat for 10 mins until the mix doesn’t taste of flour anymore. Add the mustard and cheese and blend with a stick blender. Set aside.

5. Toastes yeast flakes

Melt the butter over a medium heat. Add the yeast flakes and toast until golden brown. Set aside.

6. Assemble

Mix 20g of onion compote with 10g of walnut pesto. Once mixed, place at the bottom of the tartlet case. Spoon on the bechemel sauce. Place dots of the walnut puree randomly over the top. Sprinkle the yeast flakes and chives on top. Decoratively place the flowers on top of the walnut puree.

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About Executive Head Chef, Nathan Eades

With over 16 years of experience in the industry, Nathan recently joined The Montagu Arms as Executive Head Chef of New Forest Restaurant, The Terrace and our Beaulieu Pub, Monty's Inn. Nathan was previously Head Chef at The Wild Rabbit in Oxfordshire for over four years and oversaw a brigade of 20 that achieved several awards within the AA and Michelin Guides, Good Food Guide and was listed in the Top 50 gastropubs.

You can meet Nathan at this year's New Forest and Hampshire County Show where he will be cooking his Old Winchester Cheese Tartlett LIVE in the local produce area on Tuesday 28th July at 3.30pm.

Alternatively, have Nathan cook this dish for you during your next visit to New Forest restaurant, The Terrace.

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