5 RECIPES FOR RED LEICESTER CHEESE LOVERS

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Most Leicestershire-based people will be familiar with the locally made, Red Leicester cheese which as the name suggests in red/orange in colour and has a unique mild and mellow flavour. Whether you’ve had it in your sandwiches, on a cheeseboard or have never tried it (why not?) then the simple easy to follow recipes in this article are a great way for an introduction to Red Leicester!

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Red Leicester cheese Pinterest Pin with 9 images overlaid with text

A Little History

Red Leicester is a traditional hard cheese, which is made from unpasteurised milk with a history dating back to the 17^th century when farmers recognised the need to make cheeses, which could set them apart from other areas of the country. In order to differentiate Red Leicester from cheddar, it is often coloured with a vegetable dye called annatto (a food colouring, made from the seeds of achioto tree native to the Americas) and denotes a rich creaminess. The red/orange rind has a powder-like mould on it and the colour of the cheese indicates the milk has a high cream content.

Red Leicester as a whole is a lot crumblier with a milder flavour than cheddar and can be sold as young as two months. Connoisseurs of the cheese would be looking for a firm body, with a flaky texture and although it can be consumed young, to reach its maximum flavour, should be allowed to mature for 6-9 months.

A good Red Leicester tastes a little on the sweet side with an almost caramel flavour, which increases with maturity.

Today, only a couple of farms in Leicestershire makes the cheese using traditional methods and raw milk.

Sparkenhoe Red Leicester

Our personal favourite Red Leicester is from Sparkenhoe Farm run by David & Jo Clarke in Hinkley Leicestershire. I prefer their vintage cheese, which is matured for up to 18 months and has a moist but rich flavour.

This cheese is made with raw cow’s milk and animal rennet and is clothbound with lard. It’s also not suitable for vegetarians as it contains animal products, however, the good news is there is vegetarian versions of Red Leicester where the animal rennet is substituted potato starch, coconut oil or maize starch.

Please note Sparkenhoe Red Leicester is unpasteurised

Red Leicester Cheese packages in the fridge storage cabinet at Leicester Market

The cheese can be purchased from many online retailers as well as farm shops, fayres and fetes but we intentionally to buy ours from Leicester Market in LE1 which has many of the counties small business owners and farmers selling local produce. Read more about Leicester Market below…

Related Article: Supporting Local Produce at Leicester Market

If you’re intrigued and have never tried Red Leicester cheese then why not cook up some simple dishes. try and replicate a few of our favourites that we enjoy as a family and bring back nostalgic memories of childhood days. The brilliant part is that a lot of the same ingredients are used in the recipes so wastage is kept to the bare minimum.

All dishes are made with Vintage Red Leicester and suitable for vegetarians. Sparkenhoe Red Leicester is only on the cheese board.

5 Simple Red Leicester Cheese Recipes

#1 Red Leicester Cauliflower Cheese

Top lay of 3 Red Leicester cheese cauliflower cheese in white ramekins on a silver rack.

INGREDIENTS
Large Cauliflower
2 x teaspoons English Mustard (I use Dijon)
50g Plain flour
100g butter
300g Red Leicester cheese grated
500 mls milk
METHOD Steam the cauliflower until al dente and ensure it’s free from water and add to an ovenproof dish The Cheese sauce Melt the butter in a heavy-duty pan, then whist in the mustard and flour and cook over a gentle heat for 5 minutes. Whisk in the milk off the heat and return back to the heat and keep whisking on a low heat until it thickens. Sprinkle in the majority of the cheese and stir off the heat. Pour over the cauliflower and sprinkle with the remainder of the cheese Cook for about 20 minutes on 200°C (gas mark 7) until the cheese has browned.

ingredients to make cauliflower cheese on a chopping board, milk, cauliflower, mustard, grated Red Leicester, plain flour and butter

Making the cheese sauce for the cauliflower dish with a whist

Large dish with cauliflower cheese with a slice of Red Leicester cheese on teh side on a wire rack

Large dish with cauliflower cheese with a slice of Red Leicester cheese on teh side on a wire rack (side view)

#2 Red Leicester & Spring Onion Mash With Garlic & Chive Butter

Red Leicester Cheese mash topped with spring onions on a grey and white marble effect mat

INGREDIENTS Serves 2 as a side
500g potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
75g Red Leicester cheese grated
4 Spring onions, trimmed and chopped
3 tablespoons milk
Large knob of chive and garlic butter (recipe included at the end)

METHOD Steam the potatoes until they are soft Add butter to a pan and fry the spring onions for a minute, add milk and potatoes. Warm through and take off the heat and mash. Stir in the cheese Serve sprinkled with a handful of spring onions and cheese if desired

grey and white marble effect mat with grated Red Leicester cheese, potato, garlic and herd butter and spring onions

Sauce pan with chopped boiled potatoes, butter and milk, ready for mashing. A silver masher is placed on the side

#3 Red Leicester & Chive Scones

Red Leicester topped cheese scones with garlic and herb butter and onion chutney on a chopping board.

INGREDIENTS Makes 18-22 scones
500g Strong white flour (all-purpose plain flour)
6 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon dried English Mustard + 1 teaspoon salt
150ml whole milk
2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped
80g cold diced butter
250g Red Leicester cheese grated (plus 25g for sprinkling on the top of the scones)
1 beaten egg yolk or 1 tablespoon milk for glazing the scones
METHOD Grease and line two large baking trays Put flour, baking powder, salt, mustard powder in a large bowl and rub in the butter until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add cheese and chives and lightly stir with hands. Poor in most of the milk and start mixing by hand until the dough is soft and moist. If the dough is dry add the remainder of the milk. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat down to about 1 inch on the surface and cut out rounds using a large cutter. Repeat this until you are out of dough by repeating the process, remembering not to over-work the dough. Don’t knead the dough each time just put it together with your hands. Place the scones on a baking tray and brush with the egg yok and top each one with a handful of cheese Bake for around 15 minutes until the tops are beautifully brown Leave to stand to cool for a while and serve either with garlic and chive butter (recipe below) or a caramelised red onion chutney works well too.

A chopping board with chives, Red Leicester grated cheese, an egg, butter pieces, milk and plain flour and baking powder

A chopping board with chives, Red Leicester grated cheese, an egg, butter pieces, milk and plain flour and baking powder. Butter pieces and flour are in a white bowl.

Red Leicester cheese scone mix in a bowl ready to be mixed

Bejal with Red Leicester Scone dough in a ball

Red Leicester cheese scones mix rolled out with cutter over the top cutting out scone shapes

Bejal egg washing the scones with a brown brush

Scones being topped with Red Leicester cheese

Scones just out of the oven with melted Red Leicester on top

#4 Red Leicester & Onion Chutney Bites

Red onion and Red Leicester cheese tarts on a slate board with red onion chutney jar on the site

INGREDIENTS Makes 28-30
320g Puff Pastry (I used jusrol)
100g Sparkenhoe Red Leicester grated
4 tablespoons red onion chutney
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives
METHOD Unroll the pastry and cut into 5cm (2 inch squares) Add each pastry square onto a greased/non-stick small muffin tin Add ¼ teaspoon onion chutney to each pastry square Place a 1 teaspoon grated cheese on top of the marmalade Sprinkle with some chopped chives Bake for 10-12 minutes at 200°C or gas mark 7

Roll of pastry, cut chives, grated Red Leicester cheese and red onion chutney on a marble mat

Pastry squares topped with red onion chutney with Red Leicester cheese and chopped chives on the side.

Tray with pastry squares, topped with red onion chutney, grated Red Leicester cheese and chives ready to be baked.

Red Leicester tarts made from puff pastry straight of the oven

#5 Red Leicester Cheese Board

This isn’t technically a recipe but it still takes a little time to assemble

Red Leicester Cheese board with wine bottle and garlic butter with biscuits

INGREDIENTS
Sparkenhoe Red Leicester
Red Leicester with Chiptotle and Peppercorn
Caramelised Red Onion Chutney
Crackers (preferably something nice and herby)
Chive and Garlic Butter
Red Leicester favours a full bodied white wine

METHOD Arrange beautifully on a cheese board and consume! Cheers!

Chopping board with Sparkenhoe Red Leicester, biscuits, red onion chutney jar, Red Leicester with chilli and a bottle of white wine

Top lay of Chopping board with Sparkenhoe Red Leicester, biscuits, red onion chutney jar, Red Leicester with chilli and a bottle of white wine

Read on to learn how we made the simple garlic butter…

How To Make The Garlic Butter

Garlic, chive and herb butter cut into slices on a chopping board

Garlic, chive and herb butter cut into slices on a chopping board with sea salt

Garlic, chive and herb butter cut into slices on a chopping board with sea salt and pestle and mortar

INGREDIENTS
250g butter
1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped finely
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
METHOD Allow the butter to soften at room temperature Combine the ingredients and mix well Put the mixture onto parchment paper and roll into a cylindrical shape Twist the ends, wrap in clingfilm and put in fridge (Use the butter within 3 weeks or freeze for a couple of months)

Bejal chopping chives on a chopping board with cloves of garlic atthe side.

Melted butter, chives and salt in a bowl

Melted butter, chives and salt mix on greaseproof paper

Melted butter, chives and salt mix on greaseproof paper being rolled into a sausage shape by Bejal, ready for refrigerating

Other Ways of Eating Red Leicester Cheese

Apart from these simple recipes you can enjoy Red Leicester cheese in so many ways. Here are some suggestions:

Cheese on toast topped with tomatoes
A cheesy omelette
Cheese and pineapple sticks for party snacks
Cheese and pickled onion sticks
Cheese and potato pie
A slice topped on a urger with caramelised onions
Pizza topping
Baked potato filling
Smother over nachos and melt
Mac and Cheese with a dash of mustard.

Red Leicester cheese and pineapple stick close-up with more in the background for a party.

Want To Shop The Equipment Used In These Recipes?

Here area are a few of our favourite useful aids that we used in creating these recipes, Just hot the links to take you straight to product descriptions and pricing

Acacia Wood Cutting Board with Handle Wooden – perfect to be used as a Cheese Board, Charcuterie Board or even for bread and fruit. We love the slim rectangular design

Mini Slate Serving Plates with Chalk for Labelling – these come as a set of 6 Rectangular natural Edge Charcuterie, cheese or dessert board and are a great alternative to plates serve finger food on.

KitchenAid Classic Silicone Whisk – perfect for induction and non-stick coated pans when making sauces

Potato Mashers, Joyoldelf Potato Masher Stainless Steel – this is a great staple for the kitchen and also comes with a non-slip handle.

TOPINCN Wooden Baking Cooking Basting Brush – this Heat Resistant Pastry brush is perfect for egg or milk washing pastry.

Deiss PRO Swivel Vegetable Peeler – Sharp Stainless Steel Peeler with Easy Non-Slip Hand Grip, perfect for peeling potatoes, carrots and other vegetables. It’s also dishwasher safe.

Red Leicester Cheese Recipes FAQS

Is Red Leicester Cheese Vegetarian?

Sparkenhoe Red Leicester is not vegetarian because it contains animal rennet ( a combination of enzymes that originate from the stomachs of young ruminants such as calves and lambs). However you can find vegetarian-friendly Red Leicester which has ditched the animal rennet for coconut oil, potato or maize starch.

What Makes Red Leicester have its deep orange/red colour?

A vegetable dye called annatto is used to giev teh deep prmage colour.. Annatto is a food colouring, made from the seeds of achioto tree native to the Americas.

Do I need To Be a Good Cook To Make These Recipes?

The answer is no. The recipes are all pretty simple with easy-to-follow instructions with images.

Is Red Leicester An Expensive Cheese?

This will depend largely from where you buy the cheese as well as the quality of teh ingredients. The Sparkenhow Red Leicester can be a little pricier than supermarket bought cheese due to the specific milk from a dairy and its reputation.

Red Leicester Cheese Recipes Round-Up

We hope you’ve learnt a little more about Red Leicester, it’s origins as well as have an insight into some pretty simple recipes you can make with it. It’s unique yet mild flavour is perfect for melting on toast, adding to mash, a tart or simply enjoying it with some crackers and a good glass of wine. It’s pretty versatile and is great for party snacks like cheese and pineapple sticks, which everyone loves! If you’re doing food preparation for veegtarians or are a vegetarian yourself, remember to check that it doesn’t contain any animal rennet. How ever you choose to have your Red Leicester, enjoy!