In the light of the covid virus, home is where many of us are seeking refuge and solace. Almost all the countries in the world are in quarantine. With these, people are trying to come up with different ways on how they can entertain themselves at home. Many people are trying out new hobbies to keep their minds away from the issues about the virus. One of these is by experimenting with different recipes.
If you are one of those who have piles of pantry staples and a lot of free time on your hands, you are not alone. If you are looking into trying a new recipe in the kitchen, why not try dishes that include cheese? Cheese is one of the most comforting foods that can satisfy your hunger and soothe your soul. Therefore, if you are craving a satisfying meal that you can serve your whole family, here’s a list of the best quarantine cheese dishes that you can try cooking.
1. Fettuccine with Walnuts, Brown Butter, and Shaved Goat Cheese
If you want a meatless dish to serve your family, pasta is the perfect blank canvas. This dish is perfect for dinner. It has an out-on-the-town vibe that you can achieve in the comfort of your own home and kitchen. If you do not have any fettuccine noodles at home, you can use other kinds of pasta, like spaghetti noodles. For making breadcrumbs, you can use stale bread. What makes this dish delicious are the aged goat cheese and toasted walnuts.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound fettuccine
- 2 teaspoons of olive oil
- 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- ½ cup of toasted walnuts
- 4 ounces of aged goat cheese
- Kosher salt
- ¼ cup of toasted bread crumbs
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of minced chives
- Ground black pepper
Procedure:
- Get a large pot, fill it with salted water and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook it according to the directions on the package. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta and toss it with olive oil. Set it aside.
- Get a small pan and melt the butter over medium heat. Stir the butter constantly until the butter starts to darken. Remove it from the heat once it reaches a caramel hue, then transfer it to a heatproof measuring cup. Leave any browned bits behind.
- Over medium heat, set the pasta pot and add 4 tablespoons of brown butter. Put the pasta back to the pot and toss to coat. Drizzle about half of the pasta water and toss to coat. When the pasta starts to stick, reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Continue stirring and tossing the pasta, and drizzle water as needed to achieve a shiny creamed sauce. After that, add the walnuts and toss to combine. When the sauce becomes creamy and the walnuts are clinging to the pasta, add half of the cheese and continue stirring. Taste the sauce and add salt as needed.
- Place the pasta in serving bowls and drizzle the remaining brown butter over the top of the pasta. You can also add in the remaining cheese, bread crumbs, chives, and some black pepper. After that, you can serve the dish to your family.
2. Apple and Cheddar Stuffed Pork Chops
This is a main dish that is made of juicy pork chops that are stuffed with a mixture of diced apple, raisins, breadcrumbs, and cheddar cheese. To moisten the stuffing, you can use orange or apple juice with butter. Make sure that you make a pocket in the pork chops to place the stuffing, and bake them for 45 minutes covered and for 20 minutes uncovered. The preparation time is short.
While baking the pork chops in the oven, you can make the rest of the meal by cooking coconut jasmine rice. You can also toss some baby spinach with onion salad dressing. You can check out the full recipe of this cheesy dish here.
3. Egyptian Breakfast Beans with Feta
This is a traditional dish in the Middle East that can be easily created with pantry ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen. These include canned beans, chickpeas, and some seasoning. This recipe may seem like an unorthodox dish for most American breakfast tables, but it is perfect if you are looking for something different. What makes this dish more special is the inclusion of feta cheese.
Ingredients:
For the beans:
- ¼ cup of soft white cheese (feta or fresh chevre)
- 1 clove of garlic
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 2 ½ tablespoons of olive oil
- Grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
- 4 spring onions
- 1 14-ounce can of chickpeas
- 1 10 ½-ounce can of broad beans
- 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon of Turkish red chili flakes
- Ground black pepper
- 2 medium vine-ripened tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons of shredded flat-leaf parsley leaves
- ¼ cup soft white cheese
- Lemond wedges and pita
For the relish:
- 6 pickled green chiles
- 2 ½ tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small clove of garlic
- Big squeeze of lemon juice
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
Procedure:
- For the relish, you just need to mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl and set it aside.
- For the beans, mince the garlic clove to a paste and add some salt.
- Get a medium saucepan and set it over medium-low heat, warm the oil and add some lemon zest and juice.
- Add some spring onions and garlic paste and sauté over a gentle heat for 8 minutes, or until the spring onions have softened.
- Mix in the chickpeas, broad beans, and spices, and cook them gently for about 5 minutes until everything has warmed through.
- Stir in the tomatoes and cook it for another minute.
- Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
- Transfer it into serving bowls and top them with feta cheese and parsley. Serve it with the green chili relish, lemon wedges, and pita.
4. Cheese and Sausage Quiche
For brunch, making some quiche is a great idea. It is an all-in-one dish that just needs some side salad to complete a satisfying plate. You can buy a pie shell, create a filling with beaten eggs, cheese, sausage, and hard-boiled eggs, and bake it for 35 minutes. If you are not into pork sausage, you can instead use ham, chicken, or turkey sausage. You can also use whatever cheese you like and veggies too. There is no wrong combination for this dish. You can also pair it with a salad that you like. Here’s a delicious cheese and sausage quiche recipe that you can follow.
5. Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
Buffalo mac and cheese is one of the best comfort foods, especially during quarantine. You can give it a spin by following this recipe. Its sauce is made of mustard and two different types of cheese, such as pepper jack, which is a great match for hot sauce. You can add macaroni and top it with breadcrumbs before baking it. This is a delicious dish that you can enjoy with your spice-loving family.
These are some of the best quarantine cheese dishes that you can try cooking. Whether you are on quarantine with your whole family or alone, you can definitely try all of these recipes and easily recreate them. You can also add in or change some of the ingredients to match your preferences well.