I’m a total cheese-whore. I love my cheese. But just about only 5 months ago, I would not have had the audacity to declare that out loud.

To put this in more illustrative terms, I was more like a disloyal secret-admirer of cheese. I would stare for hours at the mounds and mounds of different cheese in cheese corner of Whole Foods. I even did my own personal research on cheese, reading up on the different textures, ages, country origin, methods, and milk sources of hundreds and hundreds of different cheeses.

And yet…when I bought cheese, I reached for Krafts processed fat-free cheese. I know, I know! I can’t believe my betrayal either!

Wait— Actually, I can. I loved and longed for good cheese, but was deathly afraid of the high amount of calories and fat in them. Thus I continued to admire cheese secretly while buying its fake, shameful counterpart.

Thankfully, I am no longer afraid of cheese. Cheese is another fear food that I have conquered.

Now, before you congratulate me, let me admit that it was not by my own choice and courage. I was kind of forced to face up to them. And it was all thanks to Singapore’s lack of appreciation for cheese and my own cheapness.

Because of the lack of demand for cheese here in Singapore, the cost of the cheese here is very high. But the weird thing is that fat free cheese costs twice more! A same pack of mozzarella cheese may cost around SGD$7.00, while the same size pack of fat-free or reduced fat mozzarella cheese cost about SGD$14.00!!! Also, mozzarella was the only fat-free variety they had here. All the other cheese like feta, bleu, cheddar, edam, swiss, etc all only came in its original full-fat.

Well, what to do? I wasn’t about to go more than 5 months without cheese, but I was too cheap to spend double the price on fat-free cheese. Why should I pay that much more for crappier-tasting cheese? In the end my ingrained frugality won over my ED crap, and I bought the full-fat cheese….

And I’m happy to say, I’ll never go back. Once you taste the real stuff, you’ll never be satisfied with anything less.

So that’s my story of how I conquered my fear of full-fat cheeses. Sometimes it pays to be a cheap Asian. Now I can proudly call myself a cheese-whore, hurrah!

Anyway, I had a cheese-dilemma this afternoon as I started preparing for lunch. I had decided to make oven-baked croquettes using a pumpkin/black bean base, and thought stuffing them with cheese would be a good idea…but what kind of cheese?

I had two completely different cheese in mind: Mozzarella and bleu cheese. One was mild, gooey, and chewy. The other was strong, crumbly, and creamy. But which one would go better with my croquettes? In the purpose of experimentation, I decided to try both and conclude later on which was the better cheese.

To explain my choice of ingredients: Croquettes are usually potato-based, but I wanted to use up a batch of roasted pumpkin that did not turn out as sweet as I liked. The black beans I added just for depth and the bonus protein. The flour I used so that the mixture would be dry enough to roll in my hands.

Pumpkin/Black Bean Croquettes

• 1 cup roasted pumpkin flesh
• 1/2 cup black beans
• ~1/3 cup whole wheat flour (more or less depending on how wet the mixture is)
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (full-fat is a must)
• 2 oz bleu cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• ~1/3 cup whole wheat or panko breadcrumbs

I first blended the pumpkin, beans, salt and pepper together in my mini-blender. Then I mixed in the flour bit by bit until I got a consistency that was not too wet and sticky:

Then I divided the mixture into four and rolled each portion into a ball with an indent in the middle:

Then I spooned in the cheese. Mozzarella on one, bleu cheese on the other:

I sealed the balls shut, then prepared the egg and a dish of breadcrumbs:

I dipped each ball into the egg…

Then rolled them in the breadcrumbs until well-coated:

And placed them onto a baking pan:

In it went into a 400 Fahrenheit oven for about 40 minutes. I flipped them over half-way into the baking time, and then out they came all crunchy and golden!

They were all cracked on top, and I was afraid they may be too dry, so I drizzled a touch of maple syrup on top:

But turns out it wasn’t necessary. The insides were perfectly moist and creamy, while the exterior was crispy and crunchy. I honestly think pumpkin and black beans together makes the most perfect combination. So freaking delicious!

But the best part was the cheese gems hidden inside, of course! Here’s a shot of the bleu cheese:

As soon as I put a piece of this in my mouth I thought, This is the one! The strong, pungent taste of the bleu cheese was such a thrill on the tongue and nose with the milder, warm, roasted background of the pumpkin and black beans. It was orgasmically creamy from the heat and absolutely just floated in my mouth.

I found myself wishing I had made them all with bleu cheese instead.

Then I dug into the mozzarella-filled one next:

And found myself once again in a dilemma. The mozzarella was just as good! It was stringy and gooey and its mild milky taste accented the pumpkin/black bean mixture just right.

Oh, dear, this is just so hard. This…

or this?

I’m sorry, it’s just impossible to decide, and I’m just going to have to go with both. They’re both perfect in their own ways. Try them both out for yourselves and you’ll know what I mean. Or you might even want to stuff them with your own favorite cheese! Oh, what the hell, there are hundreds of different varieties of cheese out there, why not try all? Oh, yeah!

Anyway, I guess I’ve sung enough odes to cheese for today. But I just can’t help asking today’s question: What is your favorite type of cheese? Mine is a good, strong raw goat’s cheese or those cute chewy white balls of fresh mozzarella. Mmm~

P.S. By the way, my super-decker omelet was featured in the Key Ingredient blog’s Tuesday Tutorial! Check it out here.
Key Ingredient is a website where cooks all over the world come to share and collect their own recipes, and you can even collect and publish your own cookbook! How cool is that? I am so pleased to have one of my creations chosen!

P.P.S. Tales of Expansion is having a pistachio giveaway! Please don’t check it out!!

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1. I kicked Eighteen Chefs’ ass
2. I wanna thank my mama, my papa…
3. Say Chee~se!
4. Let’s get down and cheesy
5. Roses are neon pink, cheeses are blue…

Tagged as: beans, cheese, fear food, pumpkin