Cheese: Roquefort

This may come to a surprise to many Americans, but the world of cheese has more than just two flavors: white and orange.  The color coding is easy, the white goes on pizza and the orange goes on tacos; they can even be mixed together and already shredded for convenience.  Sometimes we dare to put some jalapeno or dill in it, but into the garbage it goes at the first sign of mold.  Only the brave dare to cut the mold off the 8 ounce block, and often, only if no one is watching. 

On the other hand, there are the French.  They inject their cheese with mold.  In fact, the molder the better; it’s a sign of quality.  That’s right, I’m talking about Roquefort.  It is perhaps the best known and most feared French cheese in the United States.  Roquefort is a type of blue cheese, and is made from raw milk of a specific breed of sheep (Lacaune).  Yes, it is an unpasteurized cheese.  I know there is a heated debate about the health factors of this type of cheese, and I don’t want to get into that, but I do want to expand the repertoire of what we Americans call cheese.  I’m not getting on a high horse, I too like white and orange cheese, but there is so much more to it than just that.

Think about it, this cheese had a documented history dating back to 1070 and has strict laws on what the sheep eat, where they can graze, and how the cheese is fabricated.  This is the same time of the Byzantine Empire, the completion of St. Mark Cathedral in Venice, and the foundation of the city of Marrakesh.  That is what we call eating a part of history.

In production, the cheese is injected with Roqueforti Penicillium, a mold, and left for three weeks to develop the spores.  This is where the “blue” comes from.  Then, it is aged in special caves for at least 3 months.  And remember this rule with most cheeses: age = flavor.  Roquefort was the first cheese to be given the title Appellation d’Origine, or label of origin in 1925.  Now, it’s status has been elevated to  Appellation d’Origine Protégée, or ‘protected label of origin’.  This means no cheese can bear the name Roquefort if it is produced outside its specific region or it if doesn’t follow its rules of fabrication.  Basically, that moldy product is carefully and lovingly handled from sheep to plate, and I don’t know if that can be said about the cellophane wrapped orange food stuff.  How cool is that? 

This is France, and I love cheese, so expect the subject of cheese to revisited from time to time. 

America's Test Kitchen "Dish It Your Way" Challenge: Mac n' Cheese

I recently watched a show where French chef Christian Constant demonstrated his version of a pasta dish.  He stuffed cooked macaroni with paper thin truffles, cut the macaroni’s into rounds, placed them on the inside of a hollowed out eggshell, and then filled that with a scallop mousse.  Once cooked, he removed the shell and had something that looked like a Fabergé egg.  It was amazing, and like Michael Jordan doing a layup, he made it look easy.

While pondering what to do for the next round of America’s Test Kitchen “Dish It Your Way” challenge, Christophe turned to me said, “Do something like that!”

My response, “You’re nuts!”  I’ve never been good at basketball and have never been able to a layup to save my life.  There was no way I was going to try what a starred chef pulled out of his hat.  Not to mention, it was missing one key element: cheese.  Yes, that is how I got out of that one: cheese.

Scaling back a bit, I decided to something more family style, and I looked in the fridge for inspiration.  I found Roquefort cheese and smoked salmon, hence I decided upon:

Rigatoni with Roquefort Cream Sauce and Smoked Salmon

(I immediately nixed Christophe’s idea to stuff the Rigatoni with the salmon and cook them in a hallowed out egg.) 

I ran with this idea because I’m tired of being disappointed with a mac n’ cheese that is overcooked, swimming in a bland sauce, and lacking character.  More than anything, I was interested in taking a risk with flavor and ready to go a little off the deep end.

Ingredients:

1 pound Rigatoni pasta

4 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons flour

2 cups whole milk

10 oz. Roquefort cheese, cut roughly into 10 cubes, plus additional for garnishing

8 oz. smoked salmon, cut into 1/8 inch matchsticks

½ cup bread crumbs

Salt and pepper

Bring 2 quarts of salted water to a boil over medium high heat.  Stir in one pound of Rigatoni pasta.  Cook for 8 minutes (or slightly under ‘al dente’; the pasta will continue to cook in the oven so an ‘undercooked pasta’ is desired at this state to avoid a mushy end product), and drain well.

While pasta is cooking, melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a medium size pot over medium high heat.  Allow the melted butter to foam; sprinkle flour over the top and allow it to rise and brown slightly.  Knock down the mixture by whisking briskly and continue until a smooth consistency is reached.  This will avoid unwanted flour clumps in the sauce.  Add milk, lower heat to medium –low and continue to whisk until a homogenous liquid is formed.   Stir in 9 cubes of the Roquefort cheese and continue stirring into melted.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, being cautious not to over salt since the cheese has a high salt content. Mix in pasta until well coated.

In four large ramekins or one 9x13 baking dish, layer sauce coated pasta and salmon, followed by a top layer of pasta again.  Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and crumble the remaining cube of Roquefort cheese on top.  Place in preheated 350F oven for 15 minutes.  Garnish with additional cheese and chives if desired.

I know Roquefort cheese and smoked salmon aren’t a typical combination, but risks are worth taking when something is to be gained.  In this case, the risk paid off.  I got a well cooked, not over cooked pasta, in a sauce “with character” with smoking, salty hints that brighten the dish.  Now, I think I’m ready to work on my free throws – I’ll get to that layup later.

Monday’s Leftovers: August 14th

Monday’s Leftovers is a periodical series that recaps the moments of a Sunday lunch, the music, the tasks, and the memories left long after the coffee is finished.

Menu:

Champagne: Alfred Rothschild & Co., Brut - Grande Reserve

First Course: Rougail stuffed garden peppers and balsamic vinegar salad

Main Course: Shallot and balsamic vinegar marinated salmon filet served with potato lasagna and green olive tapenade

Cheese: Roquefort

Dessert: Coffee and a dark chocolate square with fleur de sel

I finally got around to weeding the last row of tomatoes.  The dirt at the garden’s edge is poor and dry, so it was a tedious task.  Saturday’s night light showers did little to help, and the air was growing humid, but despite it all, the morning passed quickly.  Christophe was dancing in the kitchen again to Hôtel Costes, his first choice in Sunday morning music.  Noontime arrived and we found ourselves in the garden enjoying one of the few true summer days.  Aperitif served and savored at a leisurely pace, followed by the salad – 100% from the garden.  The potato lasagna was a test that came out well, but discussion followed as how it could be improved.  Slowly, the clouds rolled back in and the sun disappeared; a light breeze started to blow.  We finished coffee as the first drops began to fall, and washed dishes to the monotone drum of the falling rain.