Tomato and cheese: an enduring bond that still thrills

Tomato is delicious in many combinations and some foodstuffs give the very best of their flavours only when paired together. Tomato and cheese are inseparable, and the synergy of their flavours is always a treat to our taste buds.

While the aromatic Parmesan cheese gives the final touch to the pasta with tomato sauce, one cannot fathom a pizza without the light mozzarella. On the other hand, the rich flavour of the feta cheese is superb in any salad. Find out more on your favourite cheeses and don’t miss the two delicious recipes we have prepared for you in the end.

Mozzarella

Mozzarella is a semi-soft fatty cow cheese, first produced in Italy during the Roman period. It is known for its elastic and smooth structure and unlike other cheeses, when thermally processed it is not very stretchable. It also contains a high percentage of water. You can find it in small packages in own whey, as this preserves its freshness. It has mild lactic taste and therefore it is a perfect pair for many dishes, most often on pizzas. It is manufactured using cow or buffalo cheese. The latter one was first manufactured by the monks of the San Lorenzo di Capua monastery, in southern Italy, in the 3^rd century.

The most prestigious one is “Mozzarella di Bufala Campana”, which is produced from the aromatic milk of the semi-wild female water buffalo Bubalus bubalis and is known for its richer and more intense flavour. This type is protected by the regulations of the European Union with the quality mark of denomination of origin and can therefore only be produced in certain locations of the Italian regions of Campania, Lazio, Apulia and Molise, according to an original recipe and a very specific manner of production.

Feta cheese

Feta is a traditional soft and mildly salt Greek cheese produced from at least 70 % of sheep and 30 % of goat milk. This recipe has been protected since 2005 and can only be produced in Greece. If such cheese is produced in another country, it should not be named feta. According to the traditional recipe, it is produced from unpasteurized milk, but lately the growing trend is to use pasteurized milk. Feta cheese is preserved in brine, which results in a slightly salty taste and preserves its original softness and mildness. Following draining, the cheese tends to dry and crumble. There are two types of feta cheese – a soft one, which is less salty and of fuller taste, and a hard one, which is more intense and saltier. It is often used in the Mediterranean cuisine and is ideal for various salads.

Parmesan

Parmesan is a hard and extremely aromatic cow cheese dating back to the 13^th century where it was first produced in the region of Parma and is nowadays one of the most prestigious hard cheeses. The name Parmesan is today synonymous of all Italian hard cheeses but only the cheese produced in the regions of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena and Bologna according to an original recipe and under strictly controlled conditions can be named Parmesan. The production of Parmesan cheese is complex and lengthy, and it takes as much as 16 litres of milk to get only 1 kilogram of this delicatessen cheese. The process of ageing lasts for at least a year and only those cheeses that fully meet the strict requirements may bear the name of “Grana Parmigiano Reggiano”. Its flavour is intense and rich, with recognizable fruity notes. The texture is hard and gritty, and it brakes and slices. It is best to grate it right before eating as it otherwise loses its aroma. It is also recommended to keep it in the refrigerator and not to wrap it in neither plastic or aluminium foils because this is also how it loses its quality and taste.

Try these two fantastic recipes below…

Greek salad with feta cheese

Ingredients for salad:

• 1 package of Rajska Sunstream cherry tomatoes
• 1 fresh cucumber, sliced into rings cut in half
• 100 g olives, sliced in small rings
• Half a red onion, thinly sliced
• A bit of crumbled feta cheese

Ingredients for dressing:

• 2 spoons of balsamic vinegar
• Half a lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
• A pinch of salt and pepper
• Half a spoon of olive oil

Preparation:

Take a larger size bowl and mix tomatoes, cucumbers, olives and onion. Sprinkle some feta cheese on top. In a smaller bowl, make the dressing by mixing all the ingredients. Pour the dressing on top and enjoy.

Panzerotti with mozzarella

Ingredients for dough:

• 500 g of flour for yeast dough
• 1 teaspoon of dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• Olive oil

Ingredients for the filling:

• 200 ml of pizza sauce
• 1 package of sliced Bumbolino cherry rajčica cherry tomatoes
• 200 g of mozzarella
• 1 bag of Parmesan cheese
• Basil

For coating the dough:

• 1 egg
• 20 g of breadcrumbs
• Some Parmesan cheese
• 50 ml of milk

Preparation:

1. Take a bowl, sift the flour, add yeast and salt, and mix. Add olive oil, 150 ml of lukewarm water and mix at medium speed until dough is smooth and elastic. Form a ball, grease it and leave in the refrigerator for the next 24 hours.

2. Once the dough has risen enough, knead it at least two more times and form a loaf. Slice it into slices of 4-5 cm of thickness and then spread these into thinner circles.

3. Take one half of the dough circle and stack: tomato sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, cherry tomatoes and basil. Spray some water on the edges of dough, fold and press the edges with your fingers. Place panzerottis on a baking sheet, which you previously covered with baking paper, and coat with the coating mix. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 200°C.