Last night, we had an an opening at the gallery in honor of Earth Day and I graciously got four cases of Cava donated so I thought I would suggest a flight of three Spanish cheeses that would work excellently with the cava and will highlight Spain's bounty! I apologize this post is a little late...
The good thing about Cava is that it is very versatile when it comes to cheeses and will highlight the characteristics of a variety of cheeses, even if it is not the ideal beverage, you can't go wrong with it!
1. Ibores - A semi firm goat's milk cheese from the Extremadura region of Spain. Its extra specially striking color comes from being rubbed with paprika and olive oil over the course of its two month aging process. It is a zesty, biting, unique and delish cheese. The ivory pasty goaty interior is excellently complemented by the paprika exterior, a great goat cheese for those experimenting! The cool thing is that although it is rubbed with paprika, it does not become an overwhelming flavor, making it easy to pair with a variety of wines, I think the spicy, tangyness of the cheese works well with a semi-dry/semi-sweet Riesling, but there are plenty of other wines that it could work with as well!
2. Idiazabal - A firm sheep's milk cheese from the wild lands of the Basque region of Spain. Originally, this cheese was drained and aged in chimneys, imparting a smokey flavor from the beech and hawthorn wood in its proximity. Now, with the advent of modern technology, the wheels are smoked over beechwood, hawthorn or cherry wood for ten days in high-tech smoke rooms. What you get is a nutty, caramelly, crumbly aged sheep's milk cheese with a bit of a smoky after taste. Unique and delish! Its best with a medium bodied somewhat aged red, like a Rioja.
3. La Peral - A mix milk cheese, mainly pasteurized cow with some sheep's milk cream. It hails from Asturias in Northern Spain and can sometimes be known as Queso Azul Asturiano, it is made by Lopez Leon family. Aged for sixty days only it is a lightly blued cheese somewhat similar to an Italian Gorgonzola however with a significantly creamier bent and a larger percentage of olive oil flavoring. A rare, special, and delicate blue cheese that is moist from the addition of the sheep's milk cream yet crumbly from the blue's aging process. Great with a spicy Tempranillo, this is a cheese you can't go wrong with!!!!!
I think this cheeses would do nicely paired with some marcona almonds and a little bit of fig compote and some sliced and slightly charred baguette.
Enjoy your taste of Spain.
No comments:
Post a Comment