Well well well. Almost a year to the day since I wrote my blog post about accidentally eating tripe in a cheese bar in Madrid, I’ve decided to get stuck back into the world of writing about cheese. I’ve obviously been eating cheese in the last year, but amongst a last minute house move and a new job (oh and being a bit lazy) I’ve not quite got round to the blog.
Anyway, back to the cheese. This time I decided to go for a High Street cheese – thanks Waitrose. In case you’ve been living under a rock (or in the southern hemisphere) it has been scorching here in London. The hot weather inspired me to go for a hot weather cheese, so I went for Manchego – after all, it is hot in Spain, making a Spanish cheese a hot weather cheese (in my head at least). Along with the Manchego I got a quince paste to go with it – name a more iconic duo…
So! I really liked this Manchego a lot. Probably the best I have had in the UK (though Spain is a whole different ball game). This firm sheep cheese was quite tangy and nutty, and also pretty strong – which kept me reaching for the cheese knife to cut more cheese! The taste doesn’t linger all that long so you are sort of left wanting more! It wasn’t so strong that it was overpowering – as in, you could keep eating it without really having to stop too much. I mentioned that I had the quince paste too. Quince paste is not really my area of expertise, this one was quite sweet and I didn’t have it will all the cheese I had as it would have been too much – plus, you really need to be able to enjoy the cheese by itself! But, in small doses it is great and I’ll be enjoying it with similar cheeses in future.
The great thing about Manchego is that it can be enjoyed with so many different things. It isn’t really a common cheeseboard cheese (but I think it could be!) but works brilliantly as tapas, on the side with a Spanish omelette, with chorizo and other cured meats, or with a salad. If you do get some of it, try it out with different things to see what you like it with.
I’m in the mood for more European cheeses I think, so I’ll try and write about another one soon! In the meantime, you can get this Manchego online, or pop into your nearest Waitrose. Happy cheese eating!
Ms Fromage 