Mató cheese bavarois with walnut crust, quince jelly cubes and Nectum pine syrup with caramelized pine nuts
Mató cheese is a fresh cheese of Catalonia, if you have no access to mató it could be replaced with ricotta.
Ingredients:
800g of fresh and good quality mató
½ cup of vegetable milk cream
a knob of butter
2 tablespoons of agar-agar
400g of walnuts
ground cinnamon
320g quince jelly, preferably without sugar
120g of Nectum pine syrup
100g of raw pine nuts and about 100g of sugar and 100ml of water
Preparation:
In a mortar, crush the walnuts, sprinkle with cinnamon and combine with a little bit of melted butter. Press into the bottom of a tray so that it forms half a centimeter thick base and refrigerate well before filling.
Method:
Mix the crumbled mató with a little bit of vegetable cream and three sheets of gelatin (previously soaked and melted). Once well mixed spread it on to a tray lined with cling film (same size as the one used for the nut base), it should be about 3 cm thick, refrigerate.
In a saucepan combine water, sugar and pine nuts and bring to boil, once the water has evaporated stir constantly with a wooden spatula to ensure the nuts caramelize evenly and do not burn. Once all the nuts are covered in caramel and toasted, take them out onto a parchment paper to cool.
Presentation:
Cut the cheese cream and walnut base into rectangles approximately 6 cm x 3 cm. Assemble the cheese slices on top of the walnut base, sauce it with the NECTUM syrup and decorate with quince cubes and the caramelized pine nuts.
Alternatives:
This mató “bavarois” can be used as an accompaniment of various desserts with fresh or dry fruits and nuts.
NUTRITIONAL NOTE:
Mató is made by milk coagulation and filtration, therefore it has more protein and less lactose, its fat content is lower, and according to the salt content and texture, it is classified as fresh or cottage cheese. Nectum is obtained by maceration of fir cones with organic sugar for 6-8 months, it has expectorant anti-influenza properties and sugar content similar to honey. Quince is astringent and digestive.
