Christmas Cheese Ball Rolled in Seed Crisps

Serves 8 with drinks. Prep 20 minutes, plus 2 hours chilling. No cooking.

1. Beat the cream cheese on its own until it is smooth and soft enough to shape.
2. Fold in the cheddar, the goat cheese, the spring onion, the chives, the lemon zest and a heavy grind of pepper.
3. Taste it and add salt only if the cheddar has not already done the job.
4. Scrape the mixture onto a large sheet of cling film and gather the film up around it.
5. Twist the top of the film tightly to force the air out and pull the mixture into a ball.
6. Chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight if you have the fridge space.
7. Tip half the seed crisps into a bag and crush them with a rolling pin to gravel, not dust.
8. Mix the crushed crisps, the chopped almonds and the parsley together on a large plate.
9. Unwrap the ball and roll it through the coating, pressing firmly so it sticks all over.
10. Sit it on a board with the whole crisps and crackers fanned around it and serve within 2 hours.

Make ahead, swaps and getting it there

The ball itself is a two day job. Make it, wrap it and leave it: the flavour improves overnight as the onion and lemon settle into the cheese. The coating is not. Roll it on within a couple of hours of serving, because crumbs against cold cheese go soft by hour three.

For a sweeter, fruitier version, use the rosemary, raisin and pecan crisps for the coating instead. For a table with a coeliac at it, coat the ball in chopped almonds and parsley only and serve the gluten free crackerthins alongside, rather than pretending the seed crisp version will do. The whole Valley Produce Company range is on one page if you are building a bigger spread, and the rest of the drinks hour is in Christmas finger food and festive entertaining.

Common questions

How far ahead can you make a cheese ball?

Two days for the ball, two hours for the coating. Shape it, wrap it tightly in cling film and keep it in the fridge, and it will be better on day two than it was on day one because the onion and lemon have had time to move through the cheese. Roll it in the crushed crisps on the day, close to when it goes out, and it will hold its crunch for the couple of hours a party actually lasts. Coat it the night before and you will serve a soft, damp crust.

What cheese do you use for a cheese ball?

Cream cheese for the body, and something with flavour for the rest. Cream cheese on its own is bland and too soft to hold a shape, so the grated cheddar is doing two jobs at once: taste, and enough dry solid matter to firm the mixture up. Goat cheese or a crumbled blue takes it further if the room will wear it. Avoid anything already soft and wet, such as ricotta or brie, because the ball will slump on the board within half an hour.

How do you transport a cheese ball to a party?

Uncoated, wrapped, and cold. Take the wrapped ball in an esky or a cooler bag with an ice brick, and carry the crushed crisp mixture separately in a container or a zip bag. Roll it in the coating when you arrive: it takes about a minute and it is the difference between a crust that crunches and one that has been sweating in the boot of a car. Take the whole crackers in their own packs so nothing arrives as crumbs.

VPC Valley Seed Crisps Cranberry & Hazelnut is $6.95 for 150g, and half a pack coats one ball. It sits with the rest of our crackers, alongside the festive entertaining essentials that go out on the same board. Shipping is free Australia-wide on orders over $100.