FRUIT AND NUT CHEESE ROLL
A lovely Summery addition to a Cheese Platter, or great to take on a Picnic!!! Very easy to make, just takes a little time to soak the fruit and then let it firm up in the fridge before eating. You can use any combination of fruit you like really, and either add nuts or not depending on your requirements. This is the combination I used. You could also use Port or Brandy instead of the Orange Juice to soak your fruit, depending on which fruits you were using.
- 250g Cream Cheese
- 1/2 cup Grated Mature Cheddar Cheese
- juice of 1/2 Orange
- 1 teaspoon fine Orange Zest
- 6 dried Apricots – finely chopped
- 2 to 3 dried Figs (depending on size) – finely chopped
- 10 dried Cherries – cut in half
- 10 Macadamia Nuts – cut in half
- Poppy Seeds
Combine the chopped Fruit in a bowl and cover with the Orange Juice. Leave to marinate for up to 2 hours. After the marination period, if there is still a lot of liquid, then strain the fruit.
Beat the Cream Cheese and grated Cheddar together with an electric mixer. Stir in the Orange Zest, strained marinated Fruit and the Nuts. Refridgerate for 1 hour to firm up a bit.
Using a piece of non stick baking paper, place the cheese mixture in the middle and form into a log shape. You can make the log thicker or thiner depending on your preference. Take another clean piece of baking paper and put some Poppy Seeds on it, place the Cheese Log on the Poppy Seeds and move backwards and forwards to cover the log in Poppy Seeds. You need to keep gently rolling and moving the Poppy Seeds on the paper to ensure that it is totally covered.
Place the covered log back into the fridge and chill for at least 3 hours before serving.
This lasts very well in the fridge and can easily be prepared the day before you want to use it.
Serve with Cheese Biscuits or finely sliced toasted pieces of Baguette are delicious with it.
