Cueva de Llonín Canapé

One thing I miss from the States is entertaining at home. Quite a lot of socializing the States revolving around the home. Dinner parties, cocktail parties, people dropping in for a drink and a chat, weekend cookouts… Cocktail parties were always a favorite of mine. Then I could show off my canapé game. Missing those cocktail parties is where this Cueva de Llonín Canapé idea came from.

In Spain there is not so much socializing at home. As a matter of fact, it isn’t unusual to be friends with people in Spain for decades and never once set foot in their home. Birthday parties for children are always at a venue or in a park. Likewise, adults gather in restaurants or bars for pretty much every occasion no matter how casual or formal. And cookouts are always at an area recreativa.

The typical Spanish night out for tapas is what fills in for the cocktail or house party. Take the buffet of finger foods, the small glasses of wine, beer, or liquor, the background music, and the not being entirely sure where you can sit in a strange room. And now stretch that out into as many venues as possible, all half a kilometer from each other. Then add in a couple thousand other people trying to have their own cocktail party with their friends as well, and you have going out for tapas.

For a more sedate take on drinks and snacks, Americans lean towards the cocktail or house party. Even when we go out for a party, we tend to stay in one place. Bar hopping is a rarity, which is why we have never developed a tapas culture. But the good news is that pretty much every single tapa and pintxo makes for a great party canapé.

This is one I came up with to combine two of my favorite things in Asturias – gooey cheese and strong cider. This cueva de Llonín canapé is incredibly simple. And its easy to make in advance. What could be better?

Ingredients

• 250 g Cueva de Llonín cheese.
• 250 ml still cider.
• 35 g unsalted butter. The best you can afford.
• 1 tbsp sherry or port wine.
• Pimentón or another sweet smoked paprika for garnish

Instructions

1. To create and exceptional canapé, combine two Asturian friends – cheese and cider. Simply marinating your cheese in cider overnight will give you an exciting alternative to cheese and crackers. Place 250g of Cueva de Llonin and 250ml (1 cup) of cider in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
2. Drain the cheese and discard the cider. Remove and discard the rind, then roughly chop the cheese.
3. In a food processor, combine the cheese with 35g of unsalted butter and 1 tbsp of sherry, and process until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes or until cheese is slightly firm.
4. By hand, roll teaspoonfuls of cheese into balls and sprinkle with pímenton.

Notes

• You can also roll them in slivered almonds if you’d like.