Christmas is swiftly approaching, and with some time to spare before Bun decides to make her grand entrance into the world, I’ve been starting to think of starter and mini-food ideas for all of the post-birth festive events we will be hosting.
The lovely folk at Delamere Dairy sent us some products to try from their vast goats’ milk range, and I’ve come up with a yummy (very easy!) little recipe for Christmas ‘starlets’. It’s the kind of recipe you can get the children involved in too, or just whip up a batch yourself when you have 10 minutes before guests arrive.
Based in the Delamere Forest in Cheshire, Delamere Dairy have over 33 years experience in dairy alternatives and ‘free from’ products, and are the leading UK goats’ milk producer.
The company sells a delicious award-winning range of goats’ milk-based speciality dairy products (cheese, yogurt, butter and milk), cows’ milk, lactose free, and a wide range of plant-based drinks including soya, oat, rice, coconut and almond.
We are huge fans of goats’ cheese, and this recipe features Delamere Dairy’s amazing goats’ cheese pearls, which are beautiful and flavoursome. I’ve also used their goats’ milk in the egg wash.
While researching for this campaign, I had absolutely no idea about the various benefits of goats’ milk. As someone who has cut down on their cows’ milk intake vastly over the past few years (H-Bear suffers from CMPA and I’ve found it difficult to tolerate it in Bun’s pregnancy), I’m always looking for alternatives. Did you know that goats’ milk has been known to help alleviate symptoms associated with skin conditions like eczema, digestive disorders, respiratory problems like asthma and excess mucous? It makes a fantastic alternative to cows’ milk, but unlike some plant-based milks, still contains lots of calcium.
Goats’ Cheese and Christmas Chutney Starlets (makes 10)
The Recipe
The Ingredients
Delamere Dairy Goats Cheese pearls
A festive-flavoured chutney (the one I have used in this recipe is beetroot and orange which is perfect paired with the cheese)
1 sheet of ready-to-roll puff pastry
1 beaten egg
Delamere Dairy goats’ milk (optional to add to egg wash)
You will also need a star cookie cutter. I love this one as it gives two layers of stars, making it ideal for a filling (a bit like a festive vol au vent!).
The Method
1. Set oven to 200°c (fan oven). 220°c (non-fan). Line baking trays with greaseproof paper.
2. Roll or fold pastry out onto floured surface and cut out stars. Depending on the size of your cutter, but you should be able to get around 10 stars, but a smaller cutter would create more (which would make cute canapés).
3. Add a dollop of chutney into the centre of each star.
4. Add six goats’ cheese pearls onto each star.
5. Mix the beaten egg and goats’ milk together until combined, and brush the edges of the pastry with the egg wash.
6. Pop in the oven and bake for 16 minutes, or until your pastry has risen nicely around the filling.
7. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.
Enjoy! Serve with salad or just eat on their own. Nick may have snaffled quite a few of these before I’d finished taking the photos!
You can find your nearest Delamere Dairy stockist here, or pop on over to the Delamere Dairy website to explore the whole range. What’s your favourite festive starter?
