With a few ingredients and a good supply of elbow grease, this impressive appetiser or light meal comes together easily.

If you’re anything like me, you are perpetually in search of fresh ideas for entertaining. When we have dinner guests, I don’t like serving the same thing twice, so my pinterest boards and bookmarks folders are bursting at the seams with recipes. But they all tend to be variations on a theme. Cheese, cheese and more cheese!

You can go to Greece with salty marinated feta or grilled halloumi, to France with warm baked brie or fresh herb boursin, or to Italy with peppery gorgonzola, smoky scamorza or cream creamy stracchino. There is a cheese that compliments whatever cuisine you are serving, so it is often the starting point for my menu ruminations.

This appetiser hits all the right notes, with the creamy semolina and sharp Italian cheeses. Serve it with a fresh green salad and a glass of dry white wine for the perfect start to a meal.

This recipe was adapted from here.

Serves 8
Preparation: 30 minutes
Resting: 1 hour

Ingredients

500ml (2 cups) vegetable stock
750ml (3 cups) milk
250g (2 cups) fine semolina
1 large egg yolk
75g (3/4 cup) finely grated parmesan
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
50g (1/3 cup) crumbled gorgonzola (I used piccante)
60g (1/2 cup) grated pecorino
80ml (1/3 cup) whole cream

Directions

Combine the vegetable stock and milk in a large saucepan, over medium-high heat, and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and slowly pour in the semolina, whisking constantly. Return saucepan to medium heat and whisk for about 3 minutes, until the mixture has boiled and is very thick.

Remove from heat and, working quickly, use a wooden spoon to mix in the egg yolk, parmesan and parsley. Add a good pinch each of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Spread the mixture into a lightly oiled, large rimmed baking sheet – mine was 35cm x 35cm (14 x 14″). Stand at room temperature for about an hour, until cooled and set.

Heat the oven grill (broiler) to medium. Using a knife or fine plastic spatula, cut the semolina in half lengthways, then crossways into eight rectangles, then cut each piece in half diagonally, to form 16 triangles. Grill (broil) for 7 minutes on each side, until browned.

Remove from oven and sprinkle the semolina triangles with the gorgonzola and pecorino and drizzle with the cream.

Put the baking dish back under the oven grill (broiler) and cook for about 3 minutes, until browned and bubbling. Serve warm, sprinkled with black pepper.