Versatile tasty goat's milk

Pecorino served as delicious substitute to other cheeses

The elders of the hilltop village of Castropiangno in Molise claim that the springtime cheeses are one of their favourite seasonal treasures. They claim the first grass of the year to sprout, the fragrant, springtime herbs of the hills for which the region is famous, impart an incomparable flavour to the sheep's milk cheese. For this reason, the cheese makers make sure the animals can graze undisturbed across vast green pastures.
Pecorino is sheep's milk cheese that is usually associated with the southernmost regions of Italy, but this aromatic sheep's milk cheese is just as typical of central Italy and Tuscany where no household would be without its precious cacio as it is known there.
Pecorino is produced from December to August, but it's in the month of March that a remarkable specialty is made. Marzolino is made with the first milk of the springtime grazing. This small egg-shaped pecorino, tastes best when it is still quite new, melted over spears of freshly steamed asparagus and drizzled with aged balsamic vinegar. Traditionally Marzolino is enjoyed with roasted red peppers, salami and artichoke in an antipasto or on at the end of a meal surrounded by nuts, fresh fruits and a fine red wine. But in the northern regions, chunks of Marzolino is a preferred delicacy with a before-dinner glass of chilled spumante.
Much of the Pecorino cheese of Italy is still made in farmhouses rather than factories and when older, its distinctive flavour is not unlike that of Parmesan. Pecorino can instantly lift the flavours of pasta, risotto or polenta and is traditionally added to sauces and salads. Once regarded as a peasant's specialty, often eaten as a snack with a chunk of bread and strong Tuscan wine, it can once again be found in the finest kitchens throughout Italy.
Today you can find pecorino used in a variety of trendy new dishes. Young pecorino diced into small chunks is added to slices of grilled zucchini, and tossed with toasted pine nuts, plenty of fresh basil and dressed with a shallot-infused extra virgin olive oil dressing. The ingredients are served over top of warm pasta that embellishes the flavours and releases the aromas.
Italy has so many types of Pecorino that it hardly needs any other cheese. Pecorino-type cheeses vary greatly in taste and texture, depending on the area where it is made, and are produced in all stages of maturity, from soft to hard, mild to very strong. The mild varieties, or the younger ones, are a popular table cheese served in the evenings after a meal, while the older and sharper types are traditionally used in cooking or grated. Many pasta authorities in the North suggest that pasta should always be served with grated Parmesan, but in the south, only grated pecorino will do.
In other regions Pecorino is the cheese of choice for salads. Endive and radicchio mixed together make for a bitter mix, but when a pear is added along with freshly shelled walnuts, the Pecorino's sharpness is a perfect partner. Bite-size chunks are chipped away from a large wedge of Pecorino and tossed into this salad. Dressed simply with red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper, it's a bright salad with a mouthful of exciting flavours!
If you're an eggplant lover, like I am, you'll love this delicious Pecorino sandwich from Puglia. Thick slices of eggplant are baked in the oven with garlic infused olive oil. When they're soft they're removed from the oven and thin pieces of pecorino cheese are layered on top. Then in go the torn bits of fresh basil leaves.
Next sprinkle minced fresh garlic, hot pepper flakes and a bit of salt. Lay a second thick slice of roasted eggplant overtop of this and the two are fastened together at either end with toothpicks before they go back into the oven to warm the whole sandwich. I had this served in a puddle of spicy tomato sauce as a first course - it was delicious!
The Italian pecorino we are familiar with in this country is mostly harder Romano and Sardo pecorino cheeses characteristic of Rome and Sardinia. These are saltier, sharper and less rounded than Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano and can be substituted for them in small quantities such as sprinkling over very tangy pasta sauces, but should never be substituted in large quantities unless you mix them with Parmigiano to cut the sharpness of the cheese.
You can stuff small chunks of Pecorino into pitted dates or roll it inside thin slices of prosciutto for tasty appetizers. As an avid cheese lover, my mouth still waters over one memorable meal I had in Florence. Pecorino was shaved over top of a thick grilled medium-rare steak and drizzled with a few drops of truffle oil. It was pure heaven on a plate!

Publication Date: 2003-03-23
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=2510