Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without cheese in some form. This is a particularly Christmassy cheese log, which has a gorgeous texture, and a great balance of sweet and salty flavours of fetta, roasted pistachio and cranberries. Olympus fetta is a soft and creamy fetta which goes particularly well in this one. If you are not in Australia and don’t have an Olympus fetta available near you, you may need to adjust your quantities of sweet to counter-balance a greater tang.
The cranberries sit like little jewels amongst the green of the pistachio and create an altogether merry affair which is perfect for the season. If you prefer, you can save the honey to drizzle just before serving, which has a great dramatic effect. But we like the subtle flavour just a little through the entire dish creates. We hope you enjoy this party favourite and have a wonderful Christmas with family and friends.
About Olympus Cheese
Olympus Cheese are Australian cheese manufacturers who craft award winning fetta cheese, (in original, marinated or buffalo varieites) as well as halloumi, ricotta and Greek and natural yoghurt. Olympus Cheese are situated only 5 km from Brisbane CBD and have been making pure, unadulterated cheese since 1974 for sale at independent grocers and other specialty retailers across Australia. Find out how to buy Olympus Fetta.
Fetta, Pistachio & Cranberry Cheese Log
Ingredients
- 200 grams Olympus Fetta, softened to room temperature
- 225 grams cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 tsp honey
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup dried apricots
- 1/2 cup shelled pistachios, to coat
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius
- Chop pistachios coarsely - either by hand or pulse in food processor.
- Arrange pistachios on a baking tray in a single layer
- Toast for approximately 8 minutes or until fragrant and brown (be careful they don’t burn)
- Set aside to cool
- Add fetta and cream cheese to a bowl, stir to combine
- Add balsamic vinegar, garlic, thyme, honey and cinnamon, stir to combine
- Coarsely chop cranberries. Halve mixture and add to bowl (reserve other half for outside of the cheese log)
- Coarsely chop dried apricots and add to bowl
- Fold the dried fruit into the cheese mixture
- Spread a large piece of glad wrap onto the kitchen bench
- Spoon cheese mixture onto wrap, and form into a log-like shape. Twisting the ends of the glad wrap helps to make a fuller log shape.
- Refrigerate cheese for about 30 minutes.
- Select a large piece of baking paper, and add toasted pistachios and remaining cranberries in an even layer in the middle of the paper. The length of this layer should extend slightly past the size of the cheese log.
- Unwrap the cheese log (which should still be a little sticky to touch) and place at one end of the mixture. Take the paper up to help roll the nutty mixture onto the cheese.
- Ensure the mixture is pressed into the cheese using the baking paper. Roll all the way around until the whole cheese log is evenly coated.
- Refrigerate for a further 5-10 minutes, before transferring to a serving plate. Serve with your favourite crackers.
