Cruise chef's 'crowd-pleasing' beetroot & goat’s cheese tian and cheesecake recipes

Bernhard Zorn Head chef at Uniworld, has unveiled the recipes for a beetroot & goat’s cheese tian and a Cheesecake

"These two recipes come from the personal collection of Mrs Bea Tollman, president and founder of our sister brand, the Red Carnation Hotel Collection," he said.

"She is a guiding light of Uniworld and takes a real interest in our menus.

"Both dishes are real crowd-pleasers – they are perennial favourites on Uniworld menus and perfect for making at home."

Beetroot & goat’s cheese tian

Serves four

Ingredients

• 2 good-sized beetroots, trimmed

• Pinch of fennel seeds (optional)

• 350g Philadelphia cream cheese

• 40g goat’s cheese

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (or walnut oil as an alternative)

• 1 tbsp mild white wine vinegar (or sherry vinegar as an alternative)

• 50g blue cheese, cubed, to garnish

• Micro leaves, to garnish

• Roasted pine kernels, to garnish

Method

1. Simmer the beetroots in salted water until cooked but still al dente (they mustn’t be too soft for this recipe). Add the fennel seeds for an aniseed flavour, if liked.

2. Slice the beetroot into thin discs, then place on kitchen paper to soak up some

of the moisture.

3. Cream together the Philadelphia and goat’s cheese and season with salt and pepper.

4. Fill four circular moulds with alternate layers of beetroot and cheese, using a piping bag (the cheese layers should be no more than 5mm deep). Place in the fridge to chill, and leave in the moulds until ready to serve.

5. Before serving, blend the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper into a vinaigrette dressing.

6. To serve, drizzle a few drops of vinaigrette over the tians and garnish with blue cheese, micro leaves and pine kernels.

Wine choice

I would pair this starter dish with a glass of light Riesling from the Rhine Region in Germany.

- Discover more mouth-watering recipes here -

Cheesecake

Serves eight

Ingredients

Biscuit base

• 250g digestive biscuits, finely crumbled

• 130g white sugar

• 170g butter, melted

Filling

• 1.35 kg Philadelphia cream cheese

• 350g granulated sugar

• 6 eggs, separated (room temperature)

• Seeds of 1 vanilla pod

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 450ml sour cream

• Pinch of salt

• 2g ground cinnamon

Method

1. To make the base, mix the biscuit crumbs, sugar, melted butter and cinnamon until well blended. Press the mixture evenly into a 20cm spring-form tin. Bake at 190C for 7 minutes. Leave to cool, then chill for 1 hour.

2. For the filling, place the cream cheese and half the sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the egg yolks, vanilla seeds, vanilla extract, sour cream and salt, and whip thoroughly.

3. Whip the egg whites with the rest of the sugar. Fold the whites into the cheese mixture and gently pour into the biscuit base.

4. Wrap the bottom of the spring-form tin in foil. Place in a water bath and bake in the oven for 1 hour at 180C. Turn off the heat and leave in the oven for another hour.

5. Remove from the oven, allow to cool on a rack, then refrigerate for 12 hours.

6. To finish, pre-heat the oven to 100C. Mix the sour cream and sugar for the topping. Pour over the chilled cheesecake and bake for 20 minutes. Remove, allow to cool, then chill for 24 hours before serving.

Wine choice

I would recommend a dessert wine to accompany this – perhaps a Gewürztraminer with a hint of rose leaves.