PARTNER POST – Get inspired with creatively crafted Castello Blue Cheese as we celebrate a Summer of Blue with #BluesdayTuesday.
Indian paratha bread is filled with a rich blue cheese and served beside a light watermelon, cheese, and cucumber salad for a balancing summer pair.
By Swathi Iyer
For me, summer means grilling and enjoying fresh fruits especially juicy watermelon, strawberries and blueberries. I am a cheese fan and love to try a variety of cheeses whenever I get a chance. 
This time I had the chance to try Castello’s creamy blue cheese. Enjoying blue cheese requires some acquired taste and thought that we won’t like the taste of the cookies, then thought about making bread with it.
We are salad eating family, so decide to try watermelon cucumber salad with blue cheese. Sweet watermelon with cucumber and onion made perfect companion with Blue cheese. I used white wine vinaigrette with touch of honey and Dijon mustard. Taste wise this salad has everything you can expect in a small bowl, yes, sweet, tangy, spicy and buttery. Yes blue cheese added buttery tanginess which made this salad more delectable.
Due to my Indian roots I always try do fusion version. So this time too I didn’t want to lose that chance. I made blue cheese paratha. Paratha or Paranthas is a North Indian flat bread stuffed with vegetables like potatoes, cauliflower or radish etc. You can do either stuffed version of these veggies with whole wheat flat bread or you can add the stuffing while making the dough for flat bread. I made stuffing with spring onions, carrot and ginger and spice powders and off course the star of the show was blue cheese.
Then comes the big hurdle of stuffing them into whole wheat dough, I tried traditional way of making paratha, however blue cheese doesn’t want to stay inside and it starts oozing out while making. So tired this idea where first spread the dough into two flat bread; then stuff and seal and cook. It worked like a charm.
Castello Summer of Blue — Watermelon Cucumber Salad with Blue Cheese Paratha
- Yield: 5 flatbreads 1x
Description
Indian paratha bread is filled with a rich blue cheese and served beside a light watermelon, cheese, and cucumber salad for a balancing summer pair.
Ingredients
Watermelon Salad
- 2 cups diced water melon
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1 seeded and sliced cucumber
- ¼ cup crumbled Castello’s blue cheese
For dressing
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Djion mustard
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
Blue cheese paratha
- 2 cup whole wheat flour + ¼ cup extra for rolling?½ teaspoon salt?¾ cup to 1 cup Hot water?2 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon olive oil?3 tablespoon of homemade ghee for brushing the paratha (Recipe for homemade ghee)
Bread Filling
- 5.3 oz/150g Castello’s blue cheese
- 6 spring onions chopped finely both green and white parts
- 1 carrot finely grated
- 1 green chili
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder and
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon cilantro/ coriander leaves
Instructions
Watermelon Salad
- In a separate bowl mix all the ingredients except olive oil and then incorporate olive oil with continue whisking and set aside.
- In a big bowl add water melon, cucumber and onion and toss the dressing and mix well so that it coated well. Top with crumbled blue cheese.
For the Dough
- In a bowl of kitchen aid stand mixer attached with paddle attachment, add whole wheat flour, salt 2 tablespoon olive oil and water and combine well to form dough.
- Change paddle attachment and with dough hook knead the dough for about 5 minutes or until they become smooth.
- Set aside in lightly greased bowl rolling the dough so that dough get coat with 1 teaspoon oil, this will prevent dough from drying. Keep aside for 15-20 minutes. Make 10 equal sized balls and set aside.
Filling and Cooking the Bread
- Mix all the ingredients for filling in a bowl and divide it into 5 equal sized balls
- First with whole wheat dough balls make ½ inch thick flat bread and then place blue cheese filling on the top of one disc and cover with other flat bread and using a mold cut it into 6 inch circle. Then seal the sides well so that filling won’t ooze out. .
- Heat skillet and transfer the spread dough into skillet carefully. Cook the one side until you see bubbles on the top, brush with ghee
- Flip the other side and cook for another minute. When paratha is done, you will see brown spots all over. Brush them with ghee on both sides once again.
- Continue to make the paratha until you finish the entire dough. You will able to make 5 paratha from this recipe.
- Serve them with spicy pickle or curry or your choice.
- Category: Side
- Cuisine: Indian-Inspired
