Cheese as a Filling

Almost any cheese can feature in a filling. Soft cheeses are sliced to wrap in dough or to layer with vegetables such as eggplant or potato. They may provide the body for a filling: ricotta is mixed with spinach or basil to layer or fill pasta, phyllo pastries may be filled with feta cheese and chopped scallions. Combinations of one, two or even three cheeses are popular, for example, ravioli stuffed with ricotta and Parmesan in a Gorgonzola sauce. Cheese croquettes are another option—thick cheese sauce or sticks of soft cheese such as mozzarella, coated in egg and breadcrumbs and deep-fried. Gruyère and Cheddar are favorite bases for quiches and other cheese tarts; blue cheeses add a piquant bite.