Crozier Blue is an Irish farmhouse blue sheep’s milk cheese. It takes its name from the staff carried by St Patrick when he converted the Irish to Christianity in Cashel, Co Tipperary, where the cheese is made today.
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Modern Irish Cooking: Beetroot Meringues with Cashel Blue Cream
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 5 1x
Description
A modern Irish canape showcasing a wonderful Irish farmhouse cheese.
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- 125g icing sugar
- 4 raw beetroot
- 100g Crozier blue cheese
- 25-40ml cream
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Scrub and peel the beetroot.
- Boil for 30-60 minutes until cooked through (a fork should easily pierce the beetroot).
- Remove from liquid and cook the liquid down for another 45-60 minutes until it is reduced, thick and dark purpley-red.
- To make the meringues, put the sugar and egg whites in a mixing bowl together and whisk with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form (about 5-8 minutes).
- Add as much of the beetroot syrup as required to get a dark rich purpley-red colour in the meringue.
- Use a tsp to spoon onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.
- Each meringue should be a couple of centimetres in diametre (you don’t need to pipe, the mixture will be stiff enough to shape with a spoon).
- Bake for 30-40 minutes at 160C until crisp on the outside but not golden and cooked on the inside (insert a skewer into one to check).
- Leave to cool on a wire rack.
- To make the blue cheese cream, mash the cheese and cream in a bowl untilit is soft with the consistency of cream cheese.
- The amount of cream will depend on the cheese, which should be kept out of the fridge for an hour before to soften.
- Add the chopped chives.
- Sandwich two meringues between the blue cheese cream and repeat until all the meringues are made.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: Irish
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 140
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Crozier Blue cheese and where does it come from?
The article explains that Crozier Blue is an Irish farmhouse blue cheese made from sheep’s milk in Cashel, Co Tipperary. It takes its name from the staff carried by St Patrick when he converted the Irish to Christianity there. The recipe uses 100g of it to make the blue cheese cream filling.
How does the beetroot syrup color the meringue?
After boiling the 4 beetroots, the cooking liquid is reduced for another 45–60 minutes until it becomes thick and deep purply-red. You then add as much of this syrup as needed to the whisked egg whites and icing sugar to reach a dark, rich color — the amount is not fixed because beetroot intensity varies. 
Why does the cheese need to come out of the fridge an hour before making the cream?
The instructions note that the amount of cream you need to soften the 100g of Crozier Blue depends on how soft the cheese is — taking it out of the fridge an hour beforehand lets it reach a workable consistency so you can mash it with just 25–40ml of cream to a cream-cheese-like texture.
