Cheese & Garlic Bread Ring with fruity salad

This completely yummy garlic cheese bread takes only a few minutes to prepare. Once it's then baking in the oven, help yourself to a nice glass of wine and enjoy those delicious aromas as the bread bakes.

This meat free recipe uses one of my favorite 'emergency' foods - a tube of ready-to-bake dough. Garlic and slices of cheese are added and as a concession to healthy eating, served with tomato, melon and salad leaves. Wow.

We have this as a meat-free dinner or lunch and it's perfect on its own. The addition of a bowl of soup is a wonderful idea, especially on cooler days. Heinz tomato is our favorite - imagine this lovely bread dunked in delicious soup. It's great as an accompaniment too, particularly if you're entertaining. Place the bread ring in the middle of the table and guests can help themselves. It's especially good with pasta dishes - use the garlicky bread to mop up the sauce. Mmm.

It's doubtful that you'll be able to stop this from being gobbled up at once but given the chance, this is also delicious when cold.

Images © BritFlorida.

When we are having this for dinner or lunch, these quantities are perfect for the two of us - we are admittedly greedy. If you're serving this with a hearty soup it will serve four and with a pasta dish, even more people.

• 1 tube French bread dough
• 1 wedge melon. Cantaloupe is tasty - and pretty
• 1 tomato
• About 4oz cheese. I like to use a mix - this time it was mild cheddar and a tangy blue cheese
• 4 garlic cloves - use less or more depending on how many vampires you need to keep at bay
• Salad leaves

DOUGH

Pre-heat the oven to the temperature recommended on the can. This varies depending on the brand. Luckily, the dough comes out of the tube in a long sausage shape so there's no rolling involved. I simple grab each end and wobble it up and down for a few seconds. This makes the sausage thinner and longer. Arrange it in a circle on a baking tray or cookie sheet and lightly score it with a knife at intervals. Put this into the oven to bake and enjoy the smell of freshly-baked bread as it wafts through your kitchen.

OLIVE OIL

Pour the oil into a small bowl and add the crushed garlic. Let the flavor permeate the oil while the bread bakes. (If you make too much - and sometimes I do deliberately - this garlicky oil can be kept in the fridge and drizzled onto salads. It's particularly delicious on sliced tomatoes).

PREPARE THE BREAD

Remove the ring from the oven about five minutes before the recommended cooking time. The brand I use most has a twenty minute recommendation so I take it out of the oven after fifteen.When it's cool enough to handle, slice through the bread using the score marks you made earlier as a guide.

Don't cut all the way through - leave a centimeter or so at the bottom of every slice so that the ring holds together. Gently open each slice and pour or brush the garlic oil onto each surface. Use a brush or your fingers to smear it in. Save a little to add to the top of the loaf.

CHEESE

Roughly cut the cheese into slices and pack them into the cavities. Return the loaf to the oven for the remainder of the cooking time or until the cheese is melted.

SERVE

Allow the bread to cool a little while you chop the tomato and the melon. All them, with the salad leaves to the center of the loaf and serve.