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Cross-cultural cheese By Chef Kady Guyton
I've long believed that food is the common dominator for all of humanity. We all have to eat and there are a finite number of ingredients, yet infinite ways to combine them. One good example of this is cheese - specifically queso fresco or paneer cheese.
These are essentially the same thing. Whole milk or cream over heat, a little acid and suddenly there is cheese. Very mild, un-aged cheese, but still. I'm willing to bet that the good people of the Indian subcontinent and the citizens of Latin America weren't doing a lot of recipe swapping back in the day - yet here we are.
This sort of cheese is deceptively easy to make and once it's done, it keeps well and can be very versatile ingredient. The two main things you'll need are heat and patience. Fresh milk cheese can usually be found in grocery stores, but once you do it yourself, you probably won't look back.
Begin with whole milk or cream, cows milk is easiest to find but goat and sheep milk will work just as well. Be sure to use whole milk, 2% or skim doesn't have enough fat for this project.
Heat the milk to just boiling, then add lemon juice of vinegar. At first nothing will seem to happen, this is where patience becomes a virtue. In a minute or so, the milk will start to look chunky as the curds form and separate from the whey. Resist the urge to stir too much, stirring breaks up the curds and larger curds are easier to deal with.
Strain everything into colander lined with cheesecloth or muslin and rinse under cold water. Do not substitute paper towels for this part. Cheesecloth is called that for a reason - it does one thing and it does it really well. You'll also want something that can be twisted to wring out maximum water while also molding the cheese into a neat ball. Paper towels just aren't up for the job.
Once that's accomplished, you're done. So what to do with this ball of fresh cheese? In Mexican cuisine it's crumbled up and sprinkled on top of any spicy dish that could use a little cooling down. It can also be used in place of feta in most recipes. It can also be cut into cubes, threaded on skewers with tomatoes, chunks of bell pepper and onion and grilled as a shish kabob. I also like to make sag paneer - Indian creamed spinach.
The recipe below is a little more textured than what's typically found on an Indian restaurant menu. If the people around your table prefer a creamier dish, chop the spinach and tomatoes very fine and stir in a cup of plain yogurt or sour cream.
This dish is especially nice this time of year as the evening are still cool enough for heartier dishes, but the greens are starting to show up in the markets. Plus, spinach has lots of iron and calcium and who can't use more of that?
Paneer cheese or Queso Fresco
1 gallon of whole milk or cream Directions:
2. Pour in the lemon juice.
3. Reduce the heat and stir gently until the milk is completely curdled.
4. Remove from the heat when the separation of the curds and yellowish whey is complete.
5. Strain the mixture through a clean muslin cloth.
6. Hold it under running water for a minute and then press out the excess water.
7. Hang the muslin for 15-20 minutes so that all the whey is drained out.
8. To make the paneer into a block tie the muslin and place it under something heavy. The paneer can now be cut into chunks and used as required.
Sag Paneer
1 pound spinach leaves, stems trimmed
1. Blanch the spinach leaves in boiling water for two minutes. Rinse in cold water, drain well and finely chop. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan over low heat. Add the onions and garlic, along with the cumin and coriander. Cook until brown and fragrant.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, ginger and garam masala. Bring to a boil. Add the spinach and cook until the liquid is reduced.
4. Gently stir in the paneer, trying to keep it whole. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot as a side dish or with rice as a vegetarian main dish.
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