Manchego Cheese with Tapenade

Difficulty:

1/5

This recipe for manchego cheese with tapenade is from episode 11 of This Food That Wine.

Wine Suggestion: Amontillado Sherry

Yield: 6 appetizer servings

Ingredients

2oz fresh Manchego cheese (57g)
½ cup premade tapenade (125ml)
2-3 fresh oregano sprigs for garnish

Directions

Slice the Manchego cheese approximately 1/8^th of an inch (3 mm) thin. Top each piece of cheese with 1 teaspoon (5ml) tapenade.
Place the dressed cheese slices on a decorative serving platter and garnish with oregano sprigs.

Pairing Notes

Description: Sherry is a fortified wine from the Jerez region of Spain. It comes in many styles, from bone dry and briny to rich and sweet like Port. Amontillado Sherry is somewhere in the middle – it is dry with just a touch of sweetness, and has intense nutty aromas and flavours. It is amber in colour, medium in body, and is usually served slightly chilled.

Pairing: Many styles of Sherry tend to be an acquired taste on their own, but when paired with the right food, they shine. This is the perfect example. The creamy, slightly salty and pungent Manchego Cheese is in balance with the medium body of the Amontillado, and the nuttiness of the wine mirrors the slightly nutty flavour of the cheese. Olives have a tricky flavour to pair with wine, but as a classic Spanish flavour they work perfectly with the Sherry.

Wine Suggestion: Try any Amontillado Sherry from Spain (*TIP* look for “Montilla” wines in the Sherry section of your liquor store – they are less expensive but made in the same style as Sherry)