Fromage Friday: Truffle Cheese

Every Friday now I'm going to try to do a new segment called Fromage Friday where I showcase a particular cheese, post a recipe where cheese the highlight, or both. For the first installment I've chosen the truffle cheese.

The flesh of this cheese is a hard-creamy texture, sort of like a more solid fontina but less structured than a manchego. The rind is very thin, and the distinguishing factor is the dark brown line of real shaved truffle worked into the cheese. If you notice the cheese above, there's actually not much truffle in it; truffle is an extremely potent flavor and too much of a good thing will ruin a dish (or cheese, as it were). So choose a piece that uses a restrained hand at the truffleness.

This cheese is particularly good if you love the taste and smell of truffle but lack the pockets to invest in some. Fresh truffles (real truffles) are abhorrently expensive. I'm lucky in a way that here in the Pac NW people are growing their own truffles. Although they're not "legit" in the strictest sense of the word, they will more than do for a dish. But even these will cost me over $30 for a quarter-sized nugget.

Enjoy the cheese sliced thinly. Or, melted into sandwiches. The slightly nutty and creamy cheese together with the punch of truffle goes very well with beef and pork dishes especially. Try it on burgers, sandwiches, or even served sliced with grilled spring vegetables like asparagus.