What do you feel like munching on? A chocolate bar? An apple? Tuna on rye? What about some cheese?
If you are thinking about dinner, a nutritionist would also recommend a mozzarella ball. Add some fruit if you want to fine-tune a small snack like a chef. And if you’re going to a restaurant, look for cheese in the dessert section.
Cheese is a healthy food full of nutrients. Therefore, it should have a place in the healthy diet. Would you believe that these are the words of a nutritionist? Lenka Petríková adds that even the cheeses with higher fat content are high in proteins, healthy fats, and vitamins such as A, B12, calcium, and zinc. “I recommend high-quality cheeses. Consume fatter and more caloric cheeses such as brie, cheddar, or bryndza in the morning. In the afternoon, let’s enjoy less fatty so-called ‘fit’ cheeses such as mozzarella or cottage cheese.”
Lenka Petríková has exciting information for those with lactose intolerance. She gives a tip to try cheeses with a naturally lower lactose content, such as parmesan or pecorino. The nutritionist also advises those with histamine intolerance. They can choose fresh cheeses like ricotta, mozzarella, or cottage cheese. “I do not recommend processed cheeses as part of a healthy diet. They contain harmful melting salts.”
If the nutritionist mentioned that cheeses are beneficial for our health, Andrej Turček, the chef, briefly summed up her information about fat and lower-fat cheeses that, in most cases, it is really a calorie bomb. “But one type has only about 1% fat. The Olomouc curd cheese.” Let’s move from this aromatic specialty to our chef with amazing cooking inspirations. Andrej Turček recommends creamy risotto, pasta, or his favorite pizza. He also adds a gastronomic rule that says cheese should never be combined with seafood and fish.
Cheese gets along well with honey-mustard dip, fruit chutney, and, of course, nuts and grapes. He also “stopped” at the white and blue cheeses when talking about cheeses. The cheeses with white mold are creamy inside. Those with blue mold are pretty pronounced and sharp. “You can usually find cheeses on the menu in the desserts section. Cheese can be eaten before the main meal or as a dessert after. It is not suitable as a side dish. It’s more a snack.”
And finally, there is one recipe with cheese from nutritionist Lenka Petrikova. It combines both savory and sweet. These are croissants from cheese dough. We will need one mozzarella, one egg, maple syrup or other sweetener, and 125 g of flour. “Heat the oven to 180 oC. Blend the mozzarella in a food processor with 1 tbsp of mozzarella brine. Add one egg and sweetener to taste. After adding flour, for example, gluten-free or oat, make a dough from the mixture. Roll it out into a rectangle and cut it into six triangles. Fill them, for example, with homemade jam or whatever you like.”
Further in the recipe, the nutritionist continues to roll the triangles from the wider to the narrower part to create the shape of the croissant. Then, brush them with the yolk and bake for 20 minutes. Lenka Petríková enhances the recipe by sprinkling the croissants with chopped nuts before baking.
Text: Eva Vašková, photo: pexels.com
