Easy ways to add BIG flavour to your Summer

As part of our Summer Blues campaign, we’re making it our mission to inspire you in new and delicious ways to use our handcrafted, award-winning blues throughout the warmer months.

An easy way to add big flavour and elevate a whole host of everyday dishes, crumble into salads, melt on top of pizzas, or (our personal favourite) add generously to pasta dishes and let the savoury, umami flavours gently melt in. 

An easy way to add big flavour

There are so many dishes for which you might just reach for your favourite cheddar, but the addition of our mild blues adds a delicious depth of flavour and a creamy, indulgent texture, to take your dishes to the next level – you’ll never look back!

This Pear, Pearl Barley and Butternut Squash Salad with Northern Blue & Candied Walnuts is a great one to try, and really easy to adapt to your taste or to include more seasonal ingredients.  The mix of sweet and savoury, crunchy and soft elements work perfectly together, and the slightly stronger notes in our Northern Blue (which was so popular this summer when we were sampling it at the Great Yorkshire Show) adds a delicious richness that sometimes salads are missing.

This would work perfectly as a side dish at a BBQ, but to be honest we’d be pretty happy to have it as the main event with a plate of it on its own and maybe a glass of wine in the garden too.

Like a little ‘blue brie’ or camembert, but with an added kick of flavour thanks to the mould-ripened rind.

Last year we began experimenting with new ways to use our Bluemin Whites.  Delicious in their own right when allowed to warm a little out the fridge before serving, their mould ripened rind is packed with flavour, whilst the creamy centre turns temptingly gooey and spreadable and is perfect smothered on crackers. 

What we did discover is that they bake beautifully, like a little ‘blue brie’ or camembert, but with an added kick of flavour thanks to the rind.

Really simple to create, and again adapt, it’d be perfect for hosting friends as it’s such a lovely sharing dish. 

We added chopped walnuts and a generous drizzle of honey, but you could add a splash of white wine or vermouth too for a ‘grown up’ kick.  Bake in the over until it’s bubbling then dive in with bread and crackers… quick and simple but oh so big on flavour.

On a sweeter note, a pudding for those who don’t like puddings, or actually a really great starter, these Baked Pears with Mrs Bell’s Blue & Honey are a bit of a revelation and we can see ourselves having them on repeat throughout the late summer and early autumn. 

You can obviously find Pears all year round these day, but late summer sees the start of the British pear season which continues on throughout the autumn, so the perfect time to give this recipe a try.

Our creamy Mrs Bell’s Blue combines beautifully with the sweetness of the pears

As delicious to eat as they are to look at, our creamy Mrs Bell’s Blue combines beautifully with the sweetness of the pears, whilst the honey and walnuts add crunch and texture to deliver the perfect bite. 

In fairness any of our blues would work beautifully with this recipe, depending on how strong you like your cheese, but the mellow, meadowiness of the Mrs Bell’s Blue brings a freshness and complements the sweetness of the dish to perfection.

You can find more summer inspirations using our handcrafted blues here