Cheese Creams: Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Sapsago

Cheese Creams

Delicate combinations can be dreamt up with leftover bits of cheese, as the recipes on this page show. Not only can the cheese creams be used as a spread for bread, they are also a wonderful filling for eclairs or little cream puffs, for puff-pastry bouchées, and shortcrust pastries such as little boats or tartlets.

Herbed Roquefort Cream

5 oz each Roquefort and Camembert (rind removed)
5 tablespoons softened butter
1 egg yolk
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1/2 garlic clove, crushed
2 tablespoons fresh chopped herbs
(parsley, thyme, basil, dill)
1/3 cup heavy cream

Press the Roquefort and Camembert through a strainer and beat with the butter, egg yolk, and seasonings until light. Mix in the herbs and cream. This cheese cream goes nicely with white bread, puff pastry, and savory shortcrust creations.

Gorgonzola Cream

4 oz Gorgonzola (dolcelatte)
1/4 cup low-fat Quark or Ricotta
1/2 cup grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano
1/2 garlic clove, crushed
Salt, and 1 teaspoon chopped green peppercorns
1/4 cup heavy cream, stiffly whipped

Mix the Gorgonzola with the Quark, mashing with a fork rather than stirring until creamy. Stir in the Grana Padano, the seasonings, and the cream. This cheese cream tastes especially good spread on toasted white bread, or as a filling for puff or choux pastry.

Horseradish Cream

4 oz fresh cream cheese
3/4 cup each grated Greyerzer and Sbrinz, or Gruyere and Emmental
Salt, pepper,and nutmeg
1/2 clove crushed garlic
1 tablespoon freshly grated horseradish
1/2 cup heavy cream, stiffly whippe
2 teaspoons sweet paprika

Beat the fresh cheese until fluffy. Mix in the grated Greyerzer and Sbrinz, the seasonings, and the horseradish, grated as fine as possible. Fold in the cream. This cheese cream should be airy and light. It can be combined both with hearty black bread and with delicate choux or puff pastry. The paprika rounds out the taste.

Sapsago Cream

4 oz Sapsago
1/2 cup drained low-fat Quark or Ricotta
A pinch of salt, freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoon freshly snipped chives

Finely grate the Sapsago and mix with the Quark and seasonings until smooth. Stir in the mayonnaise, followed by the chives. This cream is ideal spread on dark rye bread, as well as used as a filling for little cream puffs.

The Cheese Bible
By Christian Teubner, Friedrich-Wilheim Ehlert
and Heinrich Mair-Waldburg
Penguin Studio
Publication Date: October 1998
Hardcover, $32.95
256 pages, 1,000 plus full-color photographs
ISBN: 0-670-88129-5
Recipes Reprinted by permission.