Chef Isabel
Acedías Fritas de Cádiz
Acedías fritas belong to Cádiz: tiny wedge sole, salted, dusted in frying flour, and dropped into very hot olive oil so the rims crisp while the fish stays tender.
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Queso Roncal Navarro con Nueces
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Roncal is Navarra's mountain sheep cheese: firm, raw-milk, aged until dense and gently piquant. Serve it simply, tempered and cut in wedges, with walnuts doing the quiet work beside it.
Appetizers & Snacks
Spanish
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
Picnic
10 min
Active Time
0 min cook•55 min total
Yield6 appetizer servings
Roncal Navarro is Navarra's mountain sheep cheese, from the Roncal valley in the Pyrenees, made firm from raw sheep's milk and aged until the paste is ivory, dense, and gently piquant. That firm, dry bite is what separates it from a softer table cheese or a smoky Idiazabal next door. You serve it in wedges with walnuts, not hidden under syrup and not melted into a sauce.
The method is hardly a method, so don't make it clever: temperature and cut. Take the wedge out early enough for the chill to leave it, then cut from the centre toward the rind so each piece carries the whole cheese. Too cold and it tastes mute. Too warm and it sweats. At cool room temperature, the sheepy, nutty smell opens, and the knife leaves a clean, slightly crumbling face.
If Roncal is not in your market, choose an aged Manchego curado or viejo, or an unsmoked Idiazabal if the shop has it. Manchego is rounder and sweeter; Idiazabal can bring smoke if it is the smoked kind. Good cheeses, different names. No hace falta haber pisado España, you do not need to have set foot in Spain, but you do need to call the substitute what it is.
In the Margin beside this one I wrote only this: less decoration, better cheese. About 40g per person is enough for an appetizer. The walnuts should taste fresh, the bread should be plain, and the Roncal should be allowed to speak.
Roncal belongs to the Valle de Roncal in the Navarrese Pyrenees, around villages such as Isaba, Uztárroz, Urzainqui, Garde, Vidángoz, Burgui, and Roncal, where sheep milk was preserved as a hard, transportable cheese. Its Denominación de Origen, granted in 1981, was the first for a cheese in Spain and tied the name to raw milk from Rasa Aragonesa and Latxa sheep, a firm pressed paste, and a minimum aging. The cheese carries the mountain larder plainly: milk turned dense and keeping, sharp enough to wake the mouth, sturdy enough to cross a winter.
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Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Roncal DOP raw sheep's milk cheese
Quantity
240g
in one wedge, rind intact
shelled walnuts
Quantity
90g
membrillo (quince paste) (optional)
Quantity
120g
sliced thin
crusty country bread (optional)
Quantity
250g
sliced
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Roncal DOP raw sheep's milk cheesein one wedge, rind intact | 240g |
| shelled walnuts | 90g |
| membrillo (quince paste) (optional)sliced thin | 120g |
| crusty country bread (optional)sliced | 250g |
Equipment Needed
- •Kitchen scale
- •Sharp cheese knife or sturdy small knife
- •Wooden board or plain serving plate
Instructions
- 1
Temper the wedge
Leave the Roncal in one piece and take it from the refrigerator 45 to 60 minutes before serving. Unwrap it, then cover it loosely with its paper or a clean cloth so the cut face does not dry. Aim for cool room temperature, about 18 to 21 C, 65 to 70 F. Cold cheese tastes waxy and quiet; cheese left in heat sweats fat and turns greasy.
If the room is hot, give it less time out and cut just before serving. Good cheese asks for care, not bravery. - 2
Ready the board
Set out a wooden board or a plain plate. Weigh 90g walnuts and taste one; a stale walnut will spoil good Roncal faster than a clumsy knife. If using membrillo, cut it into small thin pieces and keep it to the side. The cheese leads. The sweet paste is a companion, not a blanket.
- 3
Cut proper wedges
Use a sturdy cheese knife and cut the Roncal into 6 wedges of about 40g each, from the point toward the rind, so every person gets the centre and the firmer edge. Leave the rind attached for shape, but do not eat it if it is too hard or waxed. Pésalo, no lo adivines: a measured piece lets the cheese taste generous without turning the board heavy.
- 4
Serve plainly
Lay the wedges slightly apart, pile the walnuts close, and set the bread and membrillo beside them if using. Do not melt it, grate it, or drown it in honey. Then you taste the covering, not Roncal. Serve at once, while the cheese is open and fragrant. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Chef Tips
- •Buy Roncal in a wedge, not pre-sliced if you can avoid it. The paste should be ivory to pale straw, firm, and clean-smelling, with a nutty sheep-milk edge. Ammonia, wet cracks, or a sour rind mean the cheese has been kept badly.
- •If you cannot find Roncal, aged Manchego curado or viejo is the easiest Spanish substitute. It will be sweeter and less sharp. Unsmoked Idiazabal is closer in mountain sheep character, but smoked Idiazabal brings a smoke note Roncal does not have.
- •Store the remaining wedge wrapped first in waxed paper, then loosely in a container in the refrigerator. Plastic pressed tight against the cut face makes it sweat. Bring it back to cool room temperature before serving again.
- •For wine, pour Navarra Garnacha, Rioja Crianza, or a dry cider. Keep the drink dry enough to clean the fat from the tongue. A sweet wine beside membrillo is pleasant, but it makes a heavier finish.
- •Roncal is traditionally made from raw sheep's milk. For pregnant guests, immunocompromised guests, or anyone following stricter food safety guidance, serve a pasteurized aged sheep cheese instead and name it as the substitute.
Advance Preparation
- •The walnuts can be weighed and kept airtight a day ahead. Taste them before serving; old walnuts turn bitter.
- •Do not cut the Roncal hours ahead. Cut faces dry quickly, and a dry face makes even a good cheese seem tired.
- •For a picnic, keep the cheese chilled during travel and temper it in the shade for about 30 minutes before serving. Do not leave raw-milk cheese sitting in direct sun.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 117g)
Calories
430 calories
Total Fat
24 g
Saturated Fat
10 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
14 g
Cholesterol
40 mg
Sodium
500 mg
Total Carbohydrates
38 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
16 g
Protein
16 g
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