House-Made Fromage Blanc on Grilled Bread
This recipe is courtesy of Jonathon Sawyer, the 30-year-old chef/owner of downtown Cleveland’s Greenhouse Tavern.“The freshness of the ingredients in this simple recipe is paramount,” says Sawyer.
THE FROMAGE BLANC: In a large, heavy-bottomed, stainless-steel saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the milk, heavy cream, salt, and artichoke halves. Stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, bring the milk to a scald (165°F). Add the lemon juice, remove from the heat, and stir until the milk curdles completely. Set aside. After 30 minutes, drain the fromage blanc in a cheesecloth-lined colander for at least 1 hour.
TO SERVE: Using the back of a spoon, gently crush the thyme leaves. Using the flat side of a chef’s knife or the bottom of a heavy skillet, crack the peppercorns. Cut the bread on the bias into slices between ¼- and ½-inch thick. Brush the bread slices with olive oil and grill or toast.
Combine the fromage blanc with the crushed thyme and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Spread the cheese on the grilled bread. Top with cracked pepper and serve immediately.
Note: Raw milk—that is, unpasteurized, unhomogenized milk—can be difficult to obtain. If it’s not available in your area, use the freshest milk you can find but be aware that you may need additional lemon juice to induce curdling.
Written by Laurel Miller
Photography by Michael Cavotta
This is NOT Fromage Blanc
I realize that Fromage Blanc is French for Queso Blanco and French is always sexier to use when you talk cheese, but I am surprized that this recipe for what looks like Queso Blanco or "Lemon Cheese" found its way here under the guise of Fromage Blanc and entirely different northern French cheese whose variations also appears in other countries under the name Quark.
Fromage Blanc is a CULTURED product that requires the inoculation of mesophilic starter culture to acidify correctly and in a good timing (without turning sour or yogurt and with no curds or lemon flavor). It is also a very low fat product. After drainage of excess whey the cheese should have anywhere from 0% to 9% fat. This cannot be achieved if you are adding heavy cream, especially in the high rate of 20% of milk. The curd can be thickened with the use of rennet, not cream.