Erica De Mane

Too much cheese is never enough.

Recipes:

Arugula Salad with Valtellina Casera and Rosemary Apples
Ragusano Crostini with String Bean and Mache Salad

Why am I capable of devouring pounds of cheese after a big dinner? My idea of a cheese plate always used to be five or six huge hunks of various irresistible cheeses, big enough so my guests and I were assured it would never run out. Cheese is so damned alluring and I want so much of it. That’s not the way I’ve seen them do it in Italy. There small chunks of a few local cheeses are brought to the table to be slivered off. The cheese course as I formerly interpreted it needed major reworking. Now when I serve cheese after dinner, it’s one or two kinds at most, and not an entire truckload (so sad, really).

In fact, after a long, internal battle I’ve discovered that one of the best ways I can control my cheese gluttony and have my cheese too is by draping a few slices of one special cheese over a green salad, and serving it after the main course (and not with a load of bread, the way I always preferred it in the past). This approach has the feel of a cheese course, sort of, but it can be even more special in a way, since I can include gorgeous greens, little slivers of fennel or fruit or nuts, and always a very mild, non-acidic dressing that won’t compete with the cheese. (I especially like combining extra-virgin olive oil, a few drops of lemon juice, and a sprinkling of sea salt.)

I’ve picked two of my favorite Italian cheeses to incorporate into salads, one from the north and the other from way south. Both have DOP (protected designation of origin) status, which assures that their production is limited to a defined region and should also ensure that the characteristics that make the particular cheese good and unique will be apparent when you taste it.

Valtellina Casera is a raw cow’s milk cheese produced in the Italian Alps. It’s a cousin to Bitto, the most famous cheese from the region, but since Casera is produced from animals that graze on lower plains, it can be produced year round (Bitta’s production is limited to the warmer months). Both cheeses are dense and firm and have a pronounced grassy aroma, as well as a taste that to me is sweet and concentrated, not unlike other mountain cheeses such as Comte (but with the Italian crunchiness that I like so much in Grana Padano, for instance). To me, it’s a perfect match for fall and winter fruits like apples or pears. I’ve included apples in my salad.

Ragusano, from Sicily, is also made from raw cow’s milk, but it’s a caciocavallo, a cheese made in the pasta filata method of stretching and pulling, similar to mozzarella, but then put through an aging process. Many caciocavallo cheeses taste primarily of salt to me, but not Ragusano. This DOP cheese, made in the Iblea plains near the regal old city of Ragusa, has a wildflower smell, a firm but creamy texture, and a slight tang. It melts beautifully. In fact, in Southern Italy caciocavallo is often pan-fried then sprinkled with vinegar and herbs and served as a main course. That presentation is what gave me the idea for my salad with melted Ragusano crostini. It’s less cheese in one sitting, but you still get to experience its special flavor.

When making a salad that contains a fine cheese, I always like to keep the vinegar or lemon juice to a minimum, since it not only affects the taste of the cheese but also the way the cheese will taste with wine. I’ve had the best luck serving rich whites with cheese and green salads. A Greco di Tufo, from Campania, would be a good choice for both salads.

(Both recipes serve 2)

Arugula Salad with Valtellina Casera and Rosemary Apples

1 large bunch arugula, stemmed
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 tart apple (a Cortland or Granny Smith, for instance), unpeeled and thinly sliced
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
1 small sprig of rosemary, the leaves chopped
Salt
Black pepper
1 teaspoon Spanish sherry vinegar
About 10 thin shavings of Valtellina Casera

In a small skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the apples and shallot, seasoning with rosemary, a pinch of salt, and a few grindings of black pepper. Sauté quickly until the slices brown slightly but remain firm, about 3 or 4 minutes.

Add the apples to the arugula. Mix the Spanish sherry vinegar with a tablespoon of olive oil (maybe a little more, depending on how much arugula you’ve got), season with salt and black pepper, and give it a quick whisk. Pour this over the salad, and toss. Divide the salad up onto the plates, and top with the shaved Valtellina Casera. Serve right away.

Ragusano Crostini with String Bean and Mache Salad

1/4 pound haricots verts, trimmed
1 medium bunch mache, stemmed
About 10 grape tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
1 garlic clove, peeled and lightly crushed
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 sprigs of fresh marjoram, the leaves chopped
6 thin slices from a skinny baguette
6 slices of Ragusano caciocavallo

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Drop in the haricot verts, and blanch for about 2 minutes. Pour them into a colander, and run cold water over them to stop the cooking and to bring up their green color. Let drain.

Place the haricots verts, the mache, and the tomatoes in a salad bowl, and set up two salad plates.

Place the garlic in a small bowl, and add the red wine vinegar and about a tablespoon and a half of olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper, and add half of the marjoram. Give it a quick whisk, mashing down on the garlic to release its flavor.

Toast the crostini on one side under a broiler. Give them a flip, place a piece of Ragusano on each one, and put them back under the broiler just until the cheese melts, about a minute or so. Pull the crostini from the broiler, and sprinkle on the remaining marjoram. Drizzle with a few drops of olive oil.

Remove the garlic from the dressing, and toss the salad, dividing it up onto the plates. Place three crostini around each salad. Serve right away.