Nigel Slater’s comforting cheese recipes

What’s the secret to elevating a simple tart, baked onions or a fruit loaf? Just add cheese

I like the idea of a small amount of full-flavoured cheese used more as a seasoning than a principal ingredient. A recipe where the cheese plays a supporting role to vegetables, cured meat or fruits. A vegetable tart perhaps, where sautéed roots – swede or parsnip – are layered with gruyere in a crumbly pastry crust; a fruit loaf made especially for eating not with butter, but with blue cheese; or possibly a buttery roast onion with a mild taleggio sauce trickling over its golden layers. The recipes that follow make use of mature, soft and fresh cheeses, working quietly in the background.