The dish is said to be enough to provide 26 balls but obviously it’s a bit hit and miss as it depends on how big your balls are!! If you don’t like walnuts or Stilton you could of course experiment with other nuts and/or crumbly cheese.  This is an unusual buffet dish which is ideal for your vegetarian friends – makes a change from bog standard veggie fare!! 

Ingredients

Knob of butter

50g (2 oz) Walnut halves

200g (8 oz) Stilton, crumbled, and at room temperature rather than cold from the fridge

50g (2 oz) Unsalted softened butter

1 tbsp Port

1 tbsp Green peppercorns

1 tbsp Flatleaf parsley, chopped

Method

Heat a knob of butter in a frying pan (skillet), and fry the walnut halves for 1-2 minutes until they are just toasted but not burned. Allow to cool and then whizz in a food processor until finely chopped.

Roughly mash the Stilton and softened butter together in a bowl. Mash in the port and peppercorns, then chill in the fridge for at least three hours but preferably overnight.

Mix the parsley into the chopped nuts and place into a small bowl.

Roll teaspoonfuls of the mixture into small balls, then dip them into chopped nuts until evenly coated. Place onto a tray lined with baking paper (greaseproof paper/baking parchment) and chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

Serve on cocktail sticks.