For the Bonfire Night-themed supper club I put on at Brown and Green, in Crystal Palace, in November 2024, I chose Lyburn Cheese’s Old Winchester, a hard and salty Gouda-style cheese that I think shares a lot of similarities with Parmesan, to star in the cheese course. Lyburn Cheese is based in Salisbury and produces the small batch, artisan cheese. If you are local to Crystal Palace, you can buy it or order it into Little Mouse Cheesemongers, in South Norwood. I paired the cheese with a punchy quince chilli jelly and pink peppercorn oatcakes, which both gave the smooth cheese a bit of a kick.
Quince chilli jelly
Makes approx. 2kg
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1.3kg quince, cored and chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp hot chilli flakes
800g jam sugar
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Cover the quince and lemon juice in boiling water in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 25-30 mins, until the fruit is softened. Drain the quince retaining about 100ml of the water.
Transfer the quince into a food processor and blend until the fruit is a smooth paste. Return the puree to the saucepan and mix in the sugar, chilli and reserved cooking water. Place on the heat and simmer for 1hr until thick. Allow to cool slightly, then fill sterilised jars with the mixture.
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Pink peppercorn oatcakes
Makes 12
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70g oats
35g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of sugar
35g unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp pink peppercorns
35ml boiling water
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Preheat the oven to 190°C and line the baking tray with baking paper. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flour, baking powder, sugar, butter and pink peppercorns. Pour in the boiling water into the mixture and stir until you have a thick dough. Make a tablespoon-sized ball of the mixture in your hands, then place on the prepared tray and press down flat make a biscuit about 5cm across. Continue to do this with the rest of the mixture until you have 12 oatcakes.
Bake for 10-12 mins, until golden and firm. Allow to cool completely on the tray, and then serve with 30g of the Shilling cheese each and a spoonful of chutney.
