May 08 2025
There can be few more versatile ingredients the world over than French cheese, offering as it does a wealth of flavours, textures and pairing suggestions. Some cheeses are ideal for melting into sauces, while some add some bite and offer a complementary flavour, and there are plenty of cheeses which add a sharp taste to a sweet dish, and which somehow works in the most magical way.
For this reason, some of the world’s best chefs use French cheese in their favourite dishes, and the authenticity and consistency of products such as Munster, Raclette or Emmental cheese, for example, provide a platform for experimentation which challenges chefs and opens up limitless opportunities. So here we have highlighted five popular recipes which showcase the best of French cuisine in terms of skill and imagination, but which also show French cheese in all its glory.
Cantal Shortbreads topped with Roquefort and Butternut Squash
A great example of how a traditionally sweet biscuit can accommodate the sharp and intense flavours of the best French cheeses. This is a delightful hors d’oeuvre with colour and vibrancy, and which uses two contrasting French cheeses, Cantal and Roquefort. Butternut Squash is diced and fried in butter, while your shortbread dough includes grated Cantal. The resulting shortbreads are toped with the soft butternut squash and generous lumps of diced Roquefort to present a simple dish, which looks anything but.
Butternut Squash and Fourme d’Ambert Risotto
Risotto is a famously delicate dish which requires time and attention, and it is very easy to make it dry and stodgy. But executed well this is a light and fluffy dish which again highlights the winning combination of butternut squash and blue cheese. This time Fourme d’Ambert is the key to unlocking some sensational flavours also enhanced by using 18% fat Candia cooking cream in with the Arborio rice.
This is a classic winter warmer dish and a one-pot wonder which is packed full of flavour and crowd-pleasing ingredients. Using a variety of fresh vegetables and fresh herbs, this becomes a dish of wholesome simplicity, and is topped with melted Bethmale for a golden finish which oozes character and offers plenty of taste.
Courgette scones with Chervil Butter and Gruyere
Chopped fresh chervil is combined with the Douceur de France butter which acts as the perfect complement when melted on top of these light and fluffy scones. Courgettes and grated Gruyere are mixed with semi-skimmed milk to give the scones a stunning flavour and present a baked delight which is an intoxicating take on the British teatime staple. This melt-in-the-mouth sensation is French in every way.
This twist on a classic dessert involves the deliciously creamy Coulommiers mixed with cream and Dijon mustard. You might wonder how that combines with the essential brown sugar that is crisped up on top of the resulting mixture but trust us when we say this works magnificently. Crème Brulee is often dismissed as a fussy and delicate dessert due to the use of a blow torch to develop the brown sugar crisp, but you can simply melt the sugar with a hot spoon or pop them under the grill. Just keep a watchful eye on them.
If you need ingredients for any of these exquisite recipes then all these French cheeses, French creams and French butters are available from Sodiaal UK. Contact us today to find out more.
VIEW ALL OUR NEWS