Recently I was lucky enough to attend the Simonsberg Day Out at Diemersdal wine estate. We started off by tasting the range of cheese that Simonsberg has to offer then we moved on to the kitchen where chef Nic van Wyk prepared some impressive dishes that incorporated Simonsberg cheese. As a parting gift we received a few cheeses to take home as well as a beautiful apron (which have both been put to good use!).
I must admit that I am not a lover of blue cheese, or rather I wasn't until I tasted Simonzola. This creamy cheese might just be my gateway blue cheese! In this dish I melted the cheese into a white sauce with some mushrooms, the flavours complemented each other very well even if I do say so myself. So without further ado, here is the recipe for my cheesy creation!
Creamy Simonzola & Mushroom Chicken on Butternut Mash
Serves 2 hungry people
- 30ml Flour
- 30ml Butter
- 250ml Milk, warm
- 30g Simonzola cheese (quarter of the triangle)
- 125g Button Mushrooms, chopped (half a punnet)
- 4 Chicken breasts, cooked
- 1 Purple Onion, cooked
- Equal amounts of potato and butternut, cooked
- Butter, milk and salt to taste
For the sauce:
- Melt the butter in a saucepan.
- Add the flour to the melted butter, mix until well incorporated.
- Heat the mixture, whisk in the milk slowly and let the sauce thicken.
- Add mushrooms and cheese and let the sauce simmer.
For the mash:
- Mash together equal amounts of butternut and potato with some butter.
- Add milk until a smooth consistency is reached.
- Add salt to taste.
Serve the chicken topped with cheese sauce and purple onions on the butternut mash. Enjoy!
