Cherry Stilton Crostata

Name: Cherry Stilton Crostata
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 cups whole cherries; 6 ounces Stilton cheese, crumbled; 2 - 9” pie crusts; 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped; 1 large egg white

August 15, 2017

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Cherry Stilton Crostata are packed with fresh cherry and thyme flavors that pair deliciously with the aged, crumbled Stilton cheese. Veggie Wash turns the cherries into intense bombs of sweet flavor that complement the nuttiness of the Stilton. This post is sponsored by Veggie Wash and contains affiliate links.

You know what I love about summer? It’s definitely not the heat. That’s for sure. It’s all the delicious produce! It’s the fruits and vegetables that make summer worth putting up with the heat and humidity of summer. The sweet peaches and plums, the ripe tomatoes, all the zucchini! That’s what makes summer worthwhile.

This year I was drooling over the cherries. Have you seen them? All red and deliciously sweet? I’ve always been intimidated by them. Fresh cherries that is. There’s all that pitting and then figuring out what to do with them besides making a pie or a smoothie.

I finally caved and decided to buy a bag of fresh cherries. Without a single plan of what to do with them! I’m spontaneous like that. I just knew that I wanted to make something with fresh cherries. However, I didn’t want to go the sweet route. I wanted to push the limits and make something savory with them.

Cherry sauce? Chutney? Cherry chicken salad? Cherries in salad? The ideas were flying all over the place. Then I landed on it. Savory crostata!

You see, I was wandering around Whole Foods, as I want to do sometimes. We were there getting some swordfish for the in laws and, well, there’s the cheese counter. I can.not pass up the cheese counter.

Did you know they have small bits of cheese to sample? You didn’t? Oh my word. You have to check it out. They sell the small bits and end pieces of the larger so you can easily try out some cheese you’re not sure you like. Like Stilton.

Confession. The only reason I wanted to try it was because of Monty Python and the cheese shop skit. Honestly. But I have to tell you, it’s fabulous! If you like blue cheese and you like Parmesan, then you’ll like Stilton. It’s like the blue cheese and Parmesan had a baby and named it Stilton.

You know what else I got at Whole Foods? Veggie Wash. Please tell me you’ve heard of Veggie Wash? If not, I’m here to school ya. Veggie Wash is the answer to your plastic produce prayers. Seriously.

Picture this. You’ve bought a delicious bag of cherries or apples (or cucumbers, lettuce, etc.) from the store. You bust into it wanting to just nibble on your delicious bounty but you pause. You run it under some water and call it a day. Except, you know how oil and water doesn’t mix? Have you tried cleaning melted wax off your table cloth with just water? It just doesn’t work.

Enter Veggie Wash! Veggie Wash cleans not just the wax that produce distributors put on them, but all the stuff that gets trapped UNDER the wax. I never really thought about that until I had a chat with Beaumont Products, Inc. regarding Veggie Wash.

Think about it. You’ve got the farm hand (or machine) that picks the fruit. Then there’s the machine the “washes” and packages it for distribution. After that, some products gets a wax coating to make them more appetizing to the public. This is just bizarre to me. Wax is not appetizing to anyone when they’re eating produce.

Once it’s waxed, it’s shipped in who knows what container that may or may not be clean. There’s the store stock room or refrigerator where it sits in some environment that may or may not be clean. Finally, the stock person that places that produce on the shelf. Yeah. I’m a little sick to my stomach, too.

That’s why Veggie Wash is a permanent fixture on my counter, now. The 16 ounce bottle takes up no more space than a bar or soap leaving it in easy reach for all kinds of produce washing. It just takes a few minutes to clean your produce for dinner, lunch, or even a snack making that snack healthier and packed with amazing flavor.

So that bag of cherries I brought home form the grocery? Oh yeah baby! I washed a delicious handful of those gems so I could nibble while I was prepping the ingredients for the rest of this recipe. Once I was ready for the cherries, I washed the 2 cups in Veggie Wash. I poured 1/4 cup in a large bowl of cold water, swished the cherries around for several minutes, and then rinsed them with water.

Why not just rinse with tap water, you ask? Have you checked to see what’s in your tap water? You’ve seen that commercial – I forget what it’s for – but they talk about “acceptable levels of lead” in city water. Then there’s the pesticides and chemicals that can leach into the water. And finally, bio-whatevers that could be in the pipes on their way to your house.

I know. It’s just gross, but we need to talk about it. If you won’t drink your tap water, then why would you think it’s acceptable to put it ON the food you eat as a method of washing off similar, undesirable chemicals and whatever else could be in the water? It doesn’t make sense does it?

What does make sense is using Veggie Wash to clean almost all your produce. I say almost because mushrooms, being so porous, should not be washed at all! Leafy greens? Yup! Those waxy apples? YES!! OMG yes!! I can’t wait to use Veggie Wash on my apples for #AppleWeek.

Even produce with a rind or peel you’re going to remove. Because once your knife or peeler goes through them, whatever is on the outside is now on the inside. Yup. I said it. Most don’t even think it. Your knife is not so razor sharp to cut through that melon without bringing those undesirables inside the melon once you cut it. Ew. I know.

And yes, there is an organic Veggie Wash. It’s certified organic annually and it’s verified as Kosher annually, too. So for those that follow a Kosher lifestyle, have no fear! You’re covered!

I mean, just look at that delicious crostata! Why would you want anything but sweet, ripe cherry flavors to mingle with the thyme and Stilton cheese? They’re so sweet and juicy. I couldn’t help but eat a handful (or several) while prepping these beauties. And then, I couldn’t but nibble on them once they were made! I love the nuttiness of the Stilton with the cherries. They’re a perfect pair!

Just like Veggie Wash and A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures! We’re a perfect pair! And to make sure I’m not missing out on new products, I’m following their Facebook page and keeping up with Beaumont Products, Inc. on their Citrus Magic Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Cherry Stilton Crostata

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Cherry Stilton Crostata are packed with fresh cherry and thyme flavors that pair deliciously with the aged, crumbled Stilton cheese. Veggie Wash turns the cherries into intense bombs of sweet flavor that complement the nuttiness of the Stilton.

Ingredients

2 cups whole cherries
6 ounces Stilton cheese, crumbled
2 - 9” pie crusts
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 large egg white

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.
Wash cherries in Veggie Wash per the bottle directions. Pit and coarsely chop the cherries. Set aside.
Using a knife or a bowl, cut the pie crusts into 7 inch circles and place on a baking sheet lined with a silpat mat. Brush the crusts with the egg white.
Divide the cherries evenly between the four crostatas. Sprinkle with the thyme and top with the Stilton. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese I melted.
Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links, which means I will received a percentage of sales make through these links which are used to support A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures.