Saint-andré is a French triple creme cheese made from cow's milk. It is extremely rich and buttery with a milk-fat content of 70%. This is one of the rare cheeses that tends to not pair really well with wine. The amount of fat in the cheese will give most white wines a very off-putting flavor. Most cheese mongers or sommelier's would tell you to drink beer with this cheese, particularly something a little bitter like an IPA.
In accordance with this recommended pairing I chose to use bitter mustard greens and radish. These vegetables both have that same dry, crisp and refreshing quality you get from a good IPA or English bitter. And since mustard is always a good companion to cheese the greens worked in that respect as well.
The only thing that was cooked for this dish was the vinegar, which was reduced to a thick syrup. Everything else was simply sliced up and served raw. The apples and radish were dipped in some lemon juice to keep them from browning. I went against the grain here by not serving any bread with the cheese. I think that fresh vegetables and greens are a great and under-utilized commodity to serve with cheeses. They can add more to a cheese plate than bread can. I love bread with cheese but it can get really boring and is sometimes an easy was out.
Product:
Organic Icicle Radish - Culton Organics
Organic Chinese Mustard Greens - Queen's Farm
Sustainable Honey Crisp Apple - 3 Springs
Local Honey -
In accordance with this recommended pairing I chose to use bitter mustard greens and radish. These vegetables both have that same dry, crisp and refreshing quality you get from a good IPA or English bitter. And since mustard is always a good companion to cheese the greens worked in that respect as well.
The only thing that was cooked for this dish was the vinegar, which was reduced to a thick syrup. Everything else was simply sliced up and served raw. The apples and radish were dipped in some lemon juice to keep them from browning. I went against the grain here by not serving any bread with the cheese. I think that fresh vegetables and greens are a great and under-utilized commodity to serve with cheeses. They can add more to a cheese plate than bread can. I love bread with cheese but it can get really boring and is sometimes an easy was out.
Product:
Organic Icicle Radish - Culton Organics
Organic Chinese Mustard Greens - Queen's Farm
Sustainable Honey Crisp Apple - 3 Springs
Local Honey -