Easy and Delicious Lettuce Salad Recipe with Cheese from Albarracín Spain

We share this easy and quick, but tasty recipe by chef Luis Estopiñán, in El Milagro Restaurant (Teruel, Spain).

To prepare this delicious salad you will need:

Ingredients

• 3.5 ounces lettuce
• 16 pieces of salting anchovies
• 1.7 ounces hard cheese from Albarracin
• 1.4 ounces cream cheese from Albarracin
• 0.7 ounces toasted almonds
• 0.7 ounces fresh raspberry
• 1.4 ounces Olive oil
• 0.5 ounces balsamic vinegar reduction
• Salt and pepper

You can find all Cheeses from Albarracin we have used in the recipe and the rest of our products in our shop online: http://quesodealbarracin.es/productos.html

Cream cheese from Albarracin      Hard cheese from Albarracin

Directions

1. Paint a circle in the centre of the plate where the salad will be served with the balsamic vinegar reduction and place the cream cheese from Albarracin inside the circle.
2. Now, place a line of lettuce over the cream cheese from Albarracin.
3. Then, place the anchovies over the lettuce and add some slices of hard cheese form Albarracin.
4. Finally, add the toasted almonds and the raspberry that has been previously hydrated whit olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!!

Source: www.heraldo.es

Zucchini stuffed with cheese Sierra de Albarracin (blue label, green label with Rosemary or wine cheese)

This recipe with cheese is a great choice for a second course. The type of zucchini used (round) is not very common, but you can also do this recipe with a current long zucchini, as long as you are careful, of course. ;)

This recipe is easy and quick, with not so many ingredients; you just have to make sure that the quality of these is good enough in order to improve the flavour of the dish.

Ingredients:

• 4 round (when possible) zucchini
• Sierra de Albarracin cheese (either blue label, green label or wine cheese)
• 4 eggs
• Ham, salami or something similar… to taste
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Olive oil

Instructions:

Wash the zucchini, cut the upper side and then with a spoon empty the zucchini. If it´s not rounded, cut the pieces not longer than 2.5 in. and leave as bottom around 0.2 or 0.3 in. of zucchini.

Pour some water with salt in a pot and then boil the zucchini, upper side included. Once it´s well cooked, strain and let cool down for a while. 

Time to fill the zucchini with little pieces of ham, salami, etc… and also Sierra de Albarracín cheese:

The type of cheese chosen for the recipe is up to you, but here are our suggestions:

• BLUE LABEL for normal tender cheese taste. (This type of cheese was awarded with s Super-Gold medal the last Wolrd Cheese Awards 2012)
• GREEN LABEL (with rosemary) to add a Mediterranean touch.
• WINE CHEESE to make something totally different and surprise.

To finish the filling, add a whole egg in each zucchini and season to taste.

Put all the zucchini pieces in a pre-heated oven 180ºC (360ºF) for about 30 minutes.

The last but best step is to enjoy what you´ve cooked ;)

We are sure you will love this recipe and will cook it occasionally. From our part we assure the cheese will add a special touch to the whole dish.

You know you can find us in Albarracin, Teruel, Spain. But if we are too far, here´s a link to our website and the online store.

Thank you!

The recipe source is the following blog

One more year we are happy for attending the III Aragon region cheese tasting-contest, prize included!

During the weekend of 15^th – 16^th June 2013, we had the great pleasure to participate in the III Aragon region cheese tasting-contest, which took place in Biescas, a lovely village in the northern region of Aragon.

We were once again awarded, but this time we had to toe the line and accept the second prize on the category of ewe cheese.  

This time the kind of our Sierra de Albarracín cheese was the black label (100% sheep raw milk, cured hard cheese)

We are proud of our hard work and we have lots of fun during the weekend, surrounded by colleagues from our region, with whome one always learns.

We promise to be there next year and work even harder to get the first prize.

Thank you everyone for trusting in us and you know that you can always find us in our web and also the online store.

ENJOY!

Artisanal sausage roll with cheese and vegetables

Source: Mr Michael Phams en Flickr

Ingredients:

• Shortbread pastry
• Artisanal sausage
• Grated cheese Sierra de Albarracín (choose one)
• 1 onion
• 1 courgette
• Cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper 

Preparación:

1. Peel, chop and fry the onion and the courgette. Cook on a low heat until they get both soft.
2. Strain off the surplus liquid (broth) and keep it apart.
3. Fry the sausages on a high heat so you Brown them a little one the outside while keeping them not so cooked on the inside part.
4. Knead the shortbread pastry with an oval shape.
5. Spread over the shortbread pastry the cheese, vegetables and the cayenne pepper.
6. Add the sausages and season it with the salt and pepper.
7. Fold the shortbread pastry as so making a roll.
8. Put everything in the oven, preheated to maximum temperature during 15 minutes.

Once it´s cooked, you can use the broth previously kept to spread it on top of the roll together with some natural tomato salsa.

Now you just have to enjoy the meal.

Don´t forget that you´ll always have us on our website and also the online store, to provide you some of the most awarded cheeses in Spain.

International Livestock Fair FIGAN. Together with PIENSOS SOL

This last March (19th – 22nd) the important livestock international fair at the FIMA location took place in Zaragoza.

The FIGAN (FIma GANadera, ganadería means livestock) collected for the 11th time the newest technological innovations in the livestock-farming sector. The farmers could find the most modern solutions, technical and commercial, to empower the development of their daily activities.

Based on past successful experiences and also because of the ideal logistic emplacement of Zaragoza, there were many farmers gathered there to learn and share knowledge. Among them we were there, the cheese factory Sierra de Albarracín, together with piensos SOL, the most important company in the region that sells high quality fodder for sheeps.

More tan 60,000 people visited the 836 different companies that took place this year at the fair, spread in more than 820,000ft².

This way, FIGAN consolidates its international fame and gets to renew its role as main fair in the world about livestock.

The reason why a little representation of our company travelled with piensos SOL is simple; this company was the origin of what our cheese factory Sierrade Alabarracín means. The cheese factory project started first with the fodder company.

We´ve always said that we take very much care of our sheeps and their nutrition, which we watch very close since we were, first of all, in charge of piensos SOL, then we grew our own sheeps and at the end we became what we are now, a cheese factory that produces some of the most awarded cheeses in Spain.

We are still part of the fodder company and that´s why we couldn´t say no to accompany its team in such important fair for the livestock-farming sector as it is FIGAN in Zaragoza.

It was a great experience with which we got the chance to learn about the newest innovations in our sector. We paid attention to everything but we can´t say that our facilities are old-fashioned at all.

Best regards to those present at this years fair. To all the people who couldn’t come, we just say that we´ll be waiting for you the next year´s edition.

Until then and as usual, you can find us on our website and also on the online store. Cheese delivered at home!

Have a cheeseful day! ;)

The Origin of Cheese

Not long ago this information was the “trending topic” of the world of cheese; there is finally a certain evidence of the origins of cheese and an accurate date of such moment instead of the, until now, lapses taken which could include centuries or even millenniums.

We don´t know if this was the real origin of cheese, but it´s at least the earliest solid evidence of its existence. It was around 7500 years ago in a region that nowadays is Poland.

“Though there is no definitive test for cheese, we found large amounts of fatty milk residue on the pottery shards compared to cooking or storage pots from the same sites” said Richard Evershed at the University of Bristol.

That seems to be enough to prove that some of the sieves found in Poland were used to separate fatty curds from the liquid whey, all of this in a crude cheese-making process.

“It’s a very compelling forensic argument that this was connected to cheese” Evershed said. He also said that the discovery of cheese-making was a  major development for Neolithic people and gave an extra survival advantage since they could get more essential calories, minerals and proteins thanks to this way of milk preservation which was also benefitial to have reserves when food was scantly, specially in winter time.

Cheese also helped to make Neolithic diet a little more diverse. “Food was incredibly dull and monotonous” said Paul Kindstedt, a professor of nutrition and food sciences at the University of Vermont who didn´t take part in the study.

These “Neolithic cheeses” were sure non-perishable and quite pungent. “They wouldn´t be the first choice for many people now, but anyway I´d still love trying them” confirmed Kindstedt.

What´s sure is that the evolution of cheese has been constant since it was first made. Right now there are so many kinds of cheese that trying each one would be almost impossible to imagine.

Here in Sierra de Albarracin cheese factory, we use only fresh sheep's milk obtained exclusively from the livestock owned by the dairy itself, following the strictest standards in terms of nutrition and hygiene. The entire process perfectly balances traditional craft methods with the very latest technological developments.

We are waiting for you in our factory but also in our web, where you´ll be always welcome!

Post extracted from the online National Post

Christmas Cheese Balls

This Christmas time we offer you a recipe to prepare a cold-snack dish with cheese that everyone will love.

The cheese ball is traditional for this time of the year and it´s also very easy to make.

Source: Chris Buecheler in Flickr

INGREDIENTS

• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened.
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp cheese, Golden Label (Gold Medall of World Cheese Awards 2010)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion.
• 1 tablespoon diced Green peppers.
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce.
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice.
• Chopped toasted pecans (as much as you want).
• Chopped toasted almonds (ídem).
• Finely chopped dehydrated pineapple or apricot.
• Assorted crackers.

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients but the pecans, almonds and fruits. Shape into three balls. If you see them too little you can just shape them into two or add more quantity of all the ingredients.

Once everything is well mixed, roll each ball in the pecans, almonds or fruits. Make sure the cheese ball is well covered and let it chill.

Whenever you want to serve the balls, we suggest you to remove them from the refrigerator 15 minutes before.

Serve with crackers and enjoy!

On Christmas time we don´t forget about you and would like you to don´t forget about us. Let´s share the same table and have us with you. It´s easy through our online store or web.

MERRY CHEESEMAS!