COW- Cheese of the Week

This weeks COW is our first foray into sheep’s milk cheeses. “Pecorino” by itself is a general term for any sheep’s milk cheese made in Italy. Two D.O.C. varieties, Romano (Sardinia) and Toscano (Tuscany), are pretty widely available in U.S. cheese shops or gourmet markets. Pecorinos are, in general, oily cheeses because sheep’s milk contains a very high percentage of butterfat. There are some Pecorino knockoffs sold that blend sheep and cow’s milk and they’re almost always less flavorful than the real thing.

My favorite Pecorino variety is Pecorino al Ginepro (Italian for “juniper”). The rind is washed in a mixture of the juice of juniper berries and sometimes a local red wine, resulting in a beautiful tint that stains the edges of the cheese when sliced. With a very firm texture and rich sweet/nutty flavor, Pecorino al Ginepro is perfect for not only pairing with wines and fruits, but also incorporating into other dishes.

Try it…
Shaved over a sauté of porcini mushrooms
Sliced thickly with salami and prosciutto
Grated over the topping of a casserole
Sprinkled into minestrone (or any hearty vegetable) soup
Melted onto crusty bread with roasted red peppers