a gift of cheese + asparagus

Don’t you love it when you start chatting with the guy at the table next to you in a restaurant and it turns out he’s a cheese maker? And then, after promising to send you a piece of his cheese when he gets home, he does? Is there anything better than getting a package of cheese in the mail?

This happened to me when I was at the restaurant Venissa, on the island of Mazzorbo in the Venetian lagoon. The restaurant, only a year old, is run by the much lauded Paola Budel. And in fact, one of the reasons the cheese guy was there was to bring down one of his wheels of cheese for her to play around with.

The cheese, he explained, was called 50/50 since it was made from half raw cows milk and half raw goats milk. I was immediately intrigued, since I’d never tasted a mixed cow and goat cheese. Usually aged at least 12 months, the wheel he had brought down to Paola was 2 years old. Now I really wanted to have a bite.

But the menu for the dinner I attended had been planned long before the cheese arrived on Mazzorbo, and so I left the island none the wiser as to how this cheese might taste.

All that was resolved when the postman rang the bell the other day. I mean, I knew Mr. Cheese Guy said he’d send me some cheese. But people say a lot of things, and getting cheese in the mail was just not something I thought was gonna happen.

Not only did it arrive, it was the most elegant package – cheese or anything else – that I’d received in a long time. After unwrapping the brown tissue paper the cheese itself looked much like a big hunk of parmigiano. Pale yellow, with a thick rind. But the smell was something else altogether. The first whiff was definitely reminiscent of parmigiano, rich and buttery. But then the goat came forward, just a bit gamey and deeper.

The taste was a similar sensation, with the richness filling my mouth before the sharpness hit. Grainy and hard, like parmigiano, but with a completely different, sharper and somehow lighter taste. Delicious and not quite like any other cheese I’d tasted before. What a great idea, the cow and goat thing.

Of course I ate a big chunk right away, as is. But since there was a lot still left I decided to use it for dinner. I knew I didn’t want its delicate flavor lost, melted, amid strands of pasta so used it shaved over a pile of egg-topped asparagus.

Asparagus Bismark is something that starts showing up on Roman menus about now. Steamed asparagus, topped by a fried egg, left runny. Then smothered with a flurry of grated parmigiano. Rather than grating the cheese, I shaved off thin slivers that stayed intact atop the hot egg. Not only pretty, but it kept the goaty goodness up front and center.








Asparagus Bismark
Serves One

8-10 Stalks of Asparagus
2 eggs
1 piece of hard cheese, such as parmigiano or pecorino
1 Tablespoon of butter
Salt and pepper

Trim and clean asparagus. Place in steamer basket and steam until tender (about 8-10 minutes)

Turn off the heat, keeping the asparagus warm.

Heat butter in small skillet over gentle heat. Crack eggs into hot pan and cook until just set. You want the whites cooked, but the eggs runny. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Take asparagus out of pan with tongs, placing them on plate. Gently use a spatula and place the eggs atop the asparagus. Pour the remaining melted butter over the top. Using a sharp knife or vegetable peeler, cover in cheese shavings.

This is usually served as a main course, but if you use one egg and fewer asparagus, it makes a nice antipasto.

For more information about the cheese:
Cru 50/50
c/o Casa del Vino della Vallagarina