This recipe is a bit involved and will take some time to prepare and cook but it will reward you in the end. This is an elegant dinner entree that will please your family and guests. Idiazabal can be found in most good cheese shops or usually at Whole Foods or on line at Amazon. Idiazabal Cheese If you can not find Idiazabal you can substitute Manchego.
A Dinner Entree Recipe for Loin of Beef with Smoked Idiazábal Cheese
Serves 4:
800 gr (2 lb.) loin of beef
1/4 liter (1 cup) concentrated beef stock
100 gr (1/4 lb.) raisins
200 gr (1/2 lb.) smoked Idiazábal cheese
1 glass of herb eau-de-vie
4 cooking apples
Salt and pepperOlive oil
Mache (or watercress)
Preperation and Cooking
Soak the raisins in the herb eau-de-vie for half an hour before use.
Remove the rind from the cheese.
Cut the cheese into pieces and melt in a double saucepan over a medium heat with the brandy and a little of the stock, stirring all the time while adding more stock until a thick cream forms (about 10 minutes taking care that the cheese does not separate).
Put the sauce through a fine sieve and add the raisins.
Brush the beef with oil and place in an iron frying pan over a medium heat.
Sprinkle the top surface with plenty of rock salt and leave to cook on one side for 20 minutes.
Remove the salt with a spatula, turn over and place salt on the other side.
Again leave to cook over a medium heat for 15 minutes.
Remove the salt and cut into thick slices.
Peel the apples, cut into wedges and brown in oil.
Serve the meat with the sauce, the apple pieces and a few leaves of Mache or watercress.
Wines for this entree: A good red wine like Reserva
The Peppadew or sweet piquanté pepper is grown in South Africa but it is thought to have originated in Central America. Its lineage can be traced back to the Habenero pepper but how it got transported to South Africa and how it morfed into to its present day form remains a bit of a mystery. None of that really matters now because the Peppadew has arrived in America and is getting easier to find.
Peppadews are picked and pitted and then subjected to pickleling brine that is made from sugar, vinegar, salt, and spices, as well as a lot of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C-30mg/ 1 oz. serving) and calcium chloride (an ingredient used to artificially make pickled products crisp) which is why they are so crisp.
The Peppadew looks like and is about the same size as a cherry tomato. They are available in both hot and mild forms. How the same fruit can exhibit the differences in heat also remains a mystery. The flavor of the mild version has mild heat and a sweet after taste. This unique taste is a bit incongruous at first but after several samplings the mild heat and the sweetness blend into a pleasant tasting crisp fruit. The flavor of the hot version has the same sweet after taste but exhibits much more heat and it is equally enjoyable as the mild version. This "fruit" is very versatile and can be used in a variety of recipes and salads. They are pitted so stuffing them with various items is very easy.
Try them stuffed with feta cheese, garil cloves, blue cheese or mozzarella.
Our latest poll alerted me that a greater exposure to domestic cheeses is needed. American farmers and dairy co-ops are producing exceptional cheeses that are winning awards and are able to challenge their European cousins. This is my first blog review of an American farmstead cheese and I hope that it will shed a bright light on the wonderful tastes and aromas that can be found with of our home grown domestic cheeses. On the next visit to your local cheese shop ask about the local cheeses that they carry and try one or two to see what you have been missing.
Kunik is a bloomy rind goat cheese produced by the Nettle Meadow Farm located in Thurman New York. This southern Adirondack farm has 100 lovingly cared for goats that provide the milk for cheese production and the motto there is "happy goats produce great milk". We are told that the name "Kunik" comes from an Eskimo word that translates into English as "snowball" and after you see this cheese for the first time the name will prove to be entirely appropriate.
Details: Kunik is made by combining 75% goat milk and 25 % Jersey cow cream that is provided by other local dairies. The varied and wholesome diet of the goats along with the traditional farmstead production methods have yielded a unique and intoxicating cheese. It is a small lightly aged, triple cream, cylindrical, Camembert style cheese that has an edible bloomy white rind. The cow cream provides a rich buttery taste and texture that is wonderfully offset by the clean tangy goat milk.
Tasting:The bloomy rind provides a layer of complexity to the flavor and an aroma of aged wood and mushrooms that is readily obvious . As Kunik ages its flavor profile becomes more assertive. Kunik is available as "buttons" weighing between 7oz and 9oz and mini wheels that are + or - 14oz.
The versatile Kunik can be served as an hors d’ouerve drizzled with Lavender Honey and plain crackers or on a dessert platter with fruits and nuts and also as a wonderful breakfast treat spread on a heated croissant. It is also provides a elegant flair when added to baked potatoes or brown rice dishes.
Wine Parings: When young the most elegant is Champagne, however it pairs equally well with crisp whites from New York State. An aged cheese should be paired with big Whites, from New York State
