Tag: pecorino

Pecorino sardo – a member of the pecorino family

After I made the cacio e pepe pasta dish with pecorino sardo I will share with you some background information about this cheese.

The name pecorino comes from the Italian word ‘pecora’ which means sheep. Thus, pecorino is a group name for (hard) sheep milk cheeses from Italy.

But pecorino isn’t just pecorino. As in every other family, the members come from different areas and have very different characters. Today, eight pecorino cheeses carry the DOP designation.

But for now, let’s focus on pecorino sardo DOP.

Pecorino sardo from Sardinia

Pecorino sardo is one of the most known pecorino cheeses and comes from Sardinia. As with other origin protected cheeses it is all about a cultural and geographic heritage which is now described in details in the DOP designation.

On Sardinia they have a long shepherd tradition. Three million sheep are walking around on the island, grazing wild plants which influences the quality and taste of the milk. The milk used for pecorino sardo must be full fat sheep milk from a sheep which has grazed on Sardinia. The milk may be pasteurized or thermized.

Two maturations

Pecorino sardo comes with two maturations:

Dolce is the mild type, matured for 20-60 days. The cheese has a green label and is about two kg / 4.4 lb. The cheese curd is cut to the size of nuts.

Maturo on the other hand matures at least two months but most often between four to six months. It wears a blue label, weights around 3 kg / 6.6 lb and the cheese curd is cut to the size of rice grains. (By having smaller cheese curds you have a larger total surface which the whey can leave more easily. Thereby, the texture gets more solid – and more suited for a longer maturation).

Sheep milk contains more lactose compared to cow milk and this gives a slightly more sweet taste. The two types of pecorino sardo are quite different. The dolce is delicate, flexible/soft and has a bit of acidity whereas the maturo on the other hand is more crumbly and has a pleasant sharpness.

On Sardinia, the locals use the mild cheese for cooking and the matured for tapas. They suggest you serve the cheeses with white wine (for instance an oak matured chardonnay) or a red wine with acidity (such as a beaujolais).

Experience pecorino sardo on Sardinia

There are around 20 producers on Sardinia. They are happy to welcome visitors who have the interest and desire to know more about pecorino. On the website of the consortium you can see how to get there (and do take a look at the other attractions now you are there). So far, the website is in Italian – but with a bit of will power and Google Translate – you can make it! 🙂

18. January 2019
Cacio e pepe – simple and tasteful
Cacio e pepe is a very very simple dish which originally comes from Rome in Italy. The signification of the name is ‘cheese and pepper’ and that is exactly the two main ingredients. The trick is to use the pasta water which contains starch to melt the finely grated cheese and with the correct temperature you create a creamy sauce. Pure magic!

There are several ways of making the sauce. You can mix pasta water and cheese to a creamy sauce. Or you can mix water, pasta and cheese together. It is all about melting the cheese and avoiding big rubber lumps due to a wrong temperature. A tablespoon of butter is your helper in this process.

It sounds so easy and yet I found it a bit hard to make the perfect sauce by mixing hard cheese and pasta water. I did get the lumps. But every time I melt the cheese when mixed with pasta and pasta water, I succeed.

If you want to dig into the nerdy details, please read this wonderful article, which really goes into details with the dish and the method behind.

Or you can try my version of Cacio e pepe – see recipe below.

Cacio e pepe
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ingredients (2 persons)
- 200 g / 7 oz dried spaghetti or an equivalent pasta type
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp butter
- 85 g / 3 oz pecorino sardo, finely grated
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme
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method
- Boil the pasta until it is ‘two minutes before al dente’. Put aside 2 1/2 dl / 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta.
- While the pasta boils, toast the peppercorns on a hot, dry frying pan for a couple of minutes. Crush the peppercorns in a mortar.
- Melt the butter in a deep pan, add pepper and mix. Stir in half of the water you set aside. Add the boiled pasta and mix.
- Add the cheese and stir until it is melted. Add more water if you need more sauce.
- Sprinkle with thyme and serve immediately.
A few words about the cheese

Originally, this dish was made with pecorino romano. It is quite salty and sharp which brings character to the dish. I have used pecorino sardo, another sheep milk cheese which also has a lot of taste but is more balanced in my opinion. You may also use parmigiano reggiano, grana padano or another matured cheese which can be grated finely.

Think about the cheese as you would do with spices – which taste of cheese do you want in the final dish?
12. January 2019