Another Piedmontese cheese this week. Margot Beer Cheese is made with the milk of rare breed Pezzata Rossa d’Oropa cattle, adding Margot craft blonde ale to the curds. The result is a mild, semi-soft cheese with a patchwork of fine holes and a subtle beer flavour. The rind (not edible) takes on a yellow hue as it matures. We have 350g rounds (ours look oddly like pork pies, such is the toughness of the rind), available whole or in smaller portions as required.
This week’s COTW is another cheese hailing from Northwest Italy – Taleggio, made by Mario Costa in Novara, Piedmont. It’s a semisoft, washed-rind, smear-ripened cheese, with an oozing texture and a tangy, fruity, almost truffle-y aftertaste.
Taleggio is a lovely cheese to melt – great with other North Italian staples like risotto and polenta. I’m looking forward to trying it grilled on Grains‘ focaccia (our first delivery arrives next weekend on 22nd April), and drizzled with some Brock & Morten truffle oil.
We also have a couple of wines from the Tenuta Il Bosco estate, in the Oltrepò Pavese area of Lombardy. The Bonarda is a little unusual, being a slightly pétillant (that’s lightly fizzy to you and me) red wine (Croatina grapes). It’s fruity, dry, and best served a little chilled. The Brera is a fresh Riesling with apple and pear flavours.
Buongiorno amici!
This month we’re off to Northwest Italy for our inspiration, and this week’s cheese is Robiola Bosina – a mixed milk cheese from Piedmont. Made with both cow’s and sheep’s milk, it comes in mould-ripened squares that can turn pretty gooey as the cheese ripens. It’s pale in colour and creamy in texture, with a fresh, slightly sweet flavour. Unlike a lot of cheeses, I like it straight out of the fridge, a little chilled, but you might prefer it extra-runny once warmed to room temperature.
Look out for a few more Italian goodies creeping into the shop in the coming weeks.
Ciao, Monty x
