La Fête du Fromage - Le Pascouli

I found this cheese tucked into the side of the refrigerated case at CDD Sud, a local shop that is stuffed to the gills with regional wine, honey, liqueur, charcuterie, olives, etc. Surprisingly, the saleswoman had absolutely no information to offer other than "c'est délicieux." Well, that was enough for me.
The label offered a bit more help - the name of the fromagerie who makes it, where it is located, and a cute little drawing of a cow's face.

Le Pascouli is produced at la Fromagerie le Pascouli in Payra sur l'Hers, a tiny village in the Lauragais near Castelnaudary, home of the legendary Cassoulet.
I was immediately impressed by its heft. This cheese is a generous 5 x 1.5 inches and weighs in at a substantial 650 grams (1.6 pounds). A bargain at only €8.

That crazy orange colored rind, which I can only imagine gets its color through the use of annatto seeds, encases a beautifully soft and chewy unpasteurized cow's milk cheese. It has a a gentle aroma and perfectly balanced yeast, butter and mushroom flavors.

Le Pascouli is a true people pleasing cheese. I think it would charm the pants off even the most wary cheeseophobe.

We enjoyed small slices of it with hunks of une campaillette and some red Minervois wine.


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Peach Crumble

The first pêches blanches of the season became available at the market on Tuesday so I happily filled a paper bag with a kilo and tucked it gently into my straw market bag between bulbs of spring garlic, une campaillette, tomatoes, eggs and a big chunk of Tomme de Chèvre. (more about that next Tuesday)
The peaches were super fragrant and juicy and were perfect after our customary, post-market lunch of roasted chicken and sautéed potatoes. The rest were put aside to make this crumble for our friends who were coming for dinner later in the week.


Peach Crumble

• ½ cup flour
• ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
  
• pinch salt
• ¼ cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
  
• 4 large or 5 small peaches, peeled and sliced into thick pieces
  

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
   
2. Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together in a bowl
3. Cut the butter into the mixture with your fingertips until crumbly
4. Arrange the sliced peaches on the bottom of a buttered baking dish
5. Cover peaches with crumble topping then sprinkle the nuts over, if using
6. Bake for 20 minutes
7. Enjoy warm with ice cream, whipped cream or on its own

Serves 4 Pin It