I still have some of the soft cheese from the Mackerel Pate left in the fridge and have been wondering what to do with it.  It tastes really nice, doesn’t cost too much and seems to go a long way.

How to make a garlicky Boursin sandwich

I really love garlicky Boursin, so I stirred some garlic paste in and slathered it onto some French stick – result… delicious. Would make a good sandwich for lunch to take to work, if a bit pongy. 50g seems to be about right for a sandwich, so that would be

• 2 slices from a 47p loaf 4p, or use a Sainsbury’s Basics Pitta also 4p
• 50g soft cheese 73p/300g, 12p
• half tsp garlic paste, Rajah £1.30/210g, 2p
• so 18p for a sandwich/pitta

What changes can I make

All sorts of things could be added.

• Some fine chopped fresh herbs are the first things that occur – chives, basil, parsley , a mixture
• some fresh leaves, spinach or lettuce, cucumber or radish, and if from the garden, would be at no cost
• or if you like your chillies, a little sprinkle of fresh chilli would liven things up a bit
• a couple of slices of fresh tomato, sandwich them between layers of the cheese tho or the sandwich would probably be soggy by lunchtime
• so what else…. you could add a tblsp of the Broccoli Pesto or Wild Garlic Pesto to the sandwich with the soft cheese – maybe not add garlic to the cheese tho if using the Wild Garlic Pesto, otherwise your co-workers might make you eat your lunch outside on the step!
• or a tbslp of tomato puree stirred through the cheese, that would be lovely with some crispy cucumber slices if you had any
• how about a small carrot grated and stirred through, maybe with some fine chopped parsley and a spritz of lemon or the zest of half an orange
• have you ever tried raw, grated swede or parsnip? They taste very different to the cooked vegetable. Either of those would be lovely with some creamy soft cheese in a sandwich, pitta or wrap
• or 3 or 4 green or black olives, chopped,  would be lovely and tangy (99p/350g jar from Sainsbury’s)

Sweet Options

• riffing on a sweet theme, how about a handful of grapes, halved, and perhaps a trickle of honey
• or a tbslp of red berry jam in between 2 thin layers of soft cheese
• or a couple of chopped, dried dates, and maybe a trickle of honey
• or a small handful of fine chopped walnuts
• or a small handful of raisins, or any other dried fruit, sultanas, currants etc

Main Meal Options

• and what could we do with it for a main meal?
• the tomato puree stirred through would be lovely, and make for a very quick supper

• 2 tbslp tomato puree, 35p/142g 7p
• 50g soft cheese, 73p/300g, 12p
• 80g value pasta, 39p/500g 6p
• so for a supper for one, 25p

you could add some olives, chopped up, (99p/350g jar from Sainsbury’s), and maybe serve it with some green veg if you have any, or salady bits, but it would be fine on its own

• you could stir some garlic paste through and some fine chopped herbs if you have any, with or without the tomato puree
• a bit of chilli to liven things up if you like it
• or you could make a proper tomato pasta sauce by chopping and frying an onion until transparent, then adding a tin of chopped tomatoes and simmering for 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper and some chopped fresh basil if you have it. Now stir through some of the soft cheese, add 200g of value pasta (cooked) and voila – supper for 2. You can whizz the sauce before adding the pasta if you like your sauce smooth, or just leave it chunky.

So… over to you. This seems to be a pretty versatile ingredient, what ideas have you had to use it?