Chef Isabel
Afuega'l Pitu Roxu
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Torta del Casar
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Torta del Casar is Extremadura's spoonable sheep cheese, set with wild thistle so the centre softens into a bitter, creamy paste. Cut the top as a lid, warm it gently, and bring bread.
Appetizers & Snacks
Spanish
Special Occasion
Dinner Party
Celebration
10 min
Active Time
8 min cook•40 min total
Yield6 to 8 servings
Torta del Casar is Extremadura's spoon cheese, from the country around Casar de Caceres, and its character comes from cardo, the wild thistle that sets the sheep's milk. That thistle leaves a clean bitterness under the cream and makes the paste soften until you don't cut wedges. You open the top like a lid and eat from the centre. This is Extremaduran, not Spain plain and simple.
The method that decides it is temperature. Cold, the cheese is tight and sulky. Too hot, it breaks into oil and you have punished something that only asked to be warmed. Let it lose the chill first, cut the lid neatly, then warm it gently until a spoon goes in with no fight.
No hace falta haber pisado Espana. If you can't find Torta del Casar, look first for Torta de la Serena, its Extremaduran cousin, also set with thistle and eaten by spoon. It is a little cleaner and more bitter, but it belongs to the same family. A very ripe Serra da Estrela will help in a far-away kitchen, though it speaks Portuguese, not Extremaduran. Brie is another thing entirely.
Serve it with good bread and leave it alone. My Margin beside this one says only, not too hot. That is enough warning. Pésalo, no lo adivines, and warm it gently. The rest is bread, a spoon, and people leaning in.
Torta del Casar belongs to Casar de Caceres and the Llanos de Caceres in Extremadura, country of merino and entrefina sheep on the dehesa. Its curd is set with cardo, the dried flower of the wild thistle Cynara cardunculus, whose enzymes make a fragile curd, a faint bitterness, and the flattened round shape that gives the name torta. What once looked like a cheese that would not hold itself became the region's prize: a rind strong enough to carry a centre meant for the spoon.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Torta del Casar DOP
Quantity
1 whole cheese (600-700g)
unwrapped and tempered
rustic country bread
Quantity
350g
sliced 1.5cm thick
membrillo (optional)
Quantity
120g
cut into small pieces
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Torta del Casar DOPunwrapped and tempered | 1 whole cheese (600-700g) |
| rustic country breadsliced 1.5cm thick | 350g |
| membrillo (optional)cut into small pieces | 120g |
Equipment Needed
- •Small sharp knife
- •Ovenproof plate or shallow cazuela just larger than the cheese
- •Bread knife
- •Small serving spoon
- •Instant-read thermometer, optional
Instructions
- 1
Temper the cheese
Take the Torta del Casar out of the refrigerator 30 to 45 minutes before serving and remove any plastic wrapping. Leave it in its wooden band if it has one, or set it on a small ovenproof plate with a rim. Cold cheese stays stubborn in the centre; tempered cheese warms evenly and gives you the spoonable paste you came for.
A ripe Torta del Casar should give gently at the sides and smell clean, sheepy, and a little grassy. If it smells sharply of ammonia, it has gone too far. - 2
Cut the lid
With a small sharp knife, cut a circle in the top rind, leaving a 1cm border all around. Angle the knife slightly inward and lift the rind off in one piece, like a lid. Keep that lid for covering leftovers. Do not cut this cheese into wedges; you would lose the whole point of it onto the board.
- 3
Warm it gently
Heat the oven to 80C. Set the opened cheese on its plate and warm it for 6 to 8 minutes, just until the centre turns glossy and moves softly when you touch the plate. If you have a thermometer, the paste should be about 28C to 32C, no hotter. This is the method that decides it: warm enough to relax the paste, not so hot that the fat separates and pools. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
If you have no oven, use the lowest microwave power in 10-second bursts, resting 20 seconds between bursts. Stop as soon as the centre loosens. Full power makes a fine cheese behave badly. - 4
Toast the bread
While the cheese warms, toast the bread lightly so the cut faces are dry and crisp but the middle still has chew. Torta del Casar needs bread with a bit of backbone; thin crackers snap and leave you chasing cheese across the plate.
- 5
Serve by spoon
Set the cheese in the middle of the table with the bread around it and a small spoon tucked into the centre. Spoon the creamy paste onto bread, or dip the bread straight in if the table is friendly. Add membrillo on the side if you like that sweet edge against the thistle bitterness. No herbs, no garlic oil, no little performance. The cheese already did the work.
Chef Tips
- •Buy a whole Torta del Casar DOP, not a wedge. Once cut, this cheese dries quickly and loses the spoonable centre that makes it itself.
- •The closest substitute is Torta de la Serena, also from Extremadura and also set with thistle. It tends a little more bitter and less lush, but it will sit on the table the same way. That is the swap I would make first.
- •Do not bake it hard. You are not melting a cheese for sauce; you are relaxing a ripe paste. If yellow oil begins to pool at the edge, stop at once and let it settle.
- •If you need to avoid raw-milk cheeses, buy a pasteurized thistle-set sheep cheese and accept the compromise. The flavour will be gentler and the centre less wild, but the table will still understand the idea.
- •A red from Ribera del Guadiana suits it well, and so does a dry oloroso. Keep the bread plain. The cheese has enough to say.
Advance Preparation
- •Take the cheese out of the refrigerator 30 to 45 minutes before serving; in a cold kitchen, give it a full hour.
- •Slice the bread up to 2 hours ahead, but toast it just before serving so it stays crisp at the edges.
- •After serving, set the rind lid back on top, wrap the cheese well, and refrigerate up to 3 days. Rewarm once, gently.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 155g)
Calories
525 calories
Total Fat
32 g
Saturated Fat
20 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
11 g
Cholesterol
90 mg
Sodium
900 mg
Total Carbohydrates
38 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
14 g
Protein
21 g
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