Cheese, fruit and cream

I’m sure it is the same in every country; there are combinations of foods which are liked, and other combinations which sound strange, sometimes very strange. I know when I mentioned to some student in our English conversation class that English people enjoy roast pork and apple sauce, and red current jelly with lamb they thought it was most peculiar… and when the teacher from Yorkshire mentioned fruit cake and cheese they were almost shocked!

I try and keep an open mind about what seems to an English palate an unusual mix of foods and flavours… some things which I tried in the hope of a new taste experience have been disappointing… using lavender in cakes, biscuits and desserts in my mind just is not nice… and a certain well-known chef’s pine flavoured mince-pies were disgusting… in my opinion!

I came across a recipe said named after a famous Ukrainian count and prince, Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov I think was the governor of Odessa who inspired the salad.

Salad Count Vorantsov

• 100g hard mild cheese
• 3 oranges
• 200g green grapes
• fresh cream

1. Mix all together

Yes… that is the recipe! I think for the best success it would be nice to peel the oranges, maybe even take of the membrane, and cut into bite-sized pieces; halve the grapes, cube the cheese, mix and then add sufficient cream to coat the cheese and fruit… I don’t know whether this is supposed to be sweet or savoury, so maybe a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper? Maybe a grind or two of rock salt? It sounds strange… but who knows, it will probably be delicious (I might try it with smaller quantities… I will let you know!)