Queso Ibores

Queso Ibores is Extremadura's goat cheese, from the rough country of Ibores, Villuercas, La Jara, and Trujillo, where the milk comes from hardy goats and the rind is often rubbed with olive oil and pimentón until it turns a deep brick red. That red rind is not decoration. It is the cheese's skin, its scent of smoke and pepper, and the thing that tells you this is Extremaduran, not just another pressed goat cheese.

The method that decides it is moisture. Cut the curd small enough, stir it until it tightens, press it steadily, then salt it properly. Too wet and the cheese slumps and tastes sour. Too dry and it turns chalky before it ever has a chance to age. Pésalo, no lo adivines. With cheese, guessing is how you lose a week of work.

If you are far from Extremadura, use the best fresh goat milk you can get, never ultra-pasteurized. Raw milk is the old road, but pasteurized goat milk with a little calcium chloride will still give you a clean, firm cheese at home. It won't be DOP Queso Ibores, because that belongs to its place and its herds, but it will bring you close enough to understand the dish. No hace falta haber pisado España.

Rub the rind with pimentón de la Vera and olive oil after it has dried, then let it age until the paste firms and the tang settles. Slice it in slim wedges. Bread, olives, a few roasted peppers if you like, and stop there. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.