SMOKED CHEDDAR, CHIVE & ROAST BEETROOT GOUGERE

I’ve never been a fan of smoked cheese, but this dish has converted me. It is a simply delicious, indulgent supper dish, with the old-fashioned, homely beetroot filling modernised and gingered up by the coriander and smoked cheese flavour. It needs a green vegetable or salad to go with it.

Serves 4 For the filling

300g (10½oz) raw beetroot, trimmed, peeled and cut into 2cm (¾in) wedges

1tsp ground coriander

1tbsp vegetable oil

For the white sauce

30g (1oz) butter

30g (1oz) plain flour

250ml (9fl oz) whole milk

50g (1¾oz) smoked mature Cheddar cheese (such as Applewood), grated

A small bunch of chives, finely chopped

For the gougère

70g (2½oz) plain flour

¼tsp salt

A pinch of cayenne pepper 60g (2¼oz) unsalted butter, chopped

2 medium eggs, lightly beaten 50g (1¾oz) smoked mature Cheddar cheese, grated

10g (¼oz) dried breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6. For the filling, put the beetroot wedges on a baking tray and sprinkle with the ground coriander. Add the oil and mix well. Transfer to the oven and roast for 35-40 minutes, turning halfway through.

For the white sauce, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over a medium-low heat. When it is foaming, add the flour and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the milk a little at a time, stirring to make a smooth sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese, most of the chives and the roasted beetroot.

For the gougère, mix the flour with the salt and cayenne, then sift onto a sheet of baking parchment. Melt the butter in a saucepan with 150ml water, bring to the boil, then shoot in the flour all at once (see tip below). Remove the pan from the heat and, using a wooden spoon, beat really vigorously for 1 minute, until the mixture is smooth and comes away from the sides of the pan. Set aside to cool slightly.

Gradually beat the eggs into the cooled gougère mixture, so that it becomes smooth and shiny and rather reluctantly drops off the spoon, then stir in the cheese. Using a dessert spoon, dollop this mixture all around the edge of a 20cm round or oval shallow ovenproof dish. Spoon the filling into the middle, sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top and bake for 35 minutes, until golden. Garnish with the remaining chives and serve.