Every day during the summer, at 6:56 am and 8:43 am, Marion Sauveur gives you an idea of ​​a recipe to brighten up your taste buds. Direction the east of France this Thursday, with an Alsatian specialty: Munster.

Marion Sauveur, every morning, we cross the French soil with you to rediscover French products. And this morning, you take us to the East!

To taste Munster, a cheese of character with a powerful fragrance and a softer taste than it seems. He was born in the valley of the Fecht river, in the heart of the Vosges mountains, when Benedictine monks from Rome settled down to Christianize the region. To preserve the milk of the cows and to feed themselves, they made a cheese: the munster, which would be a derivative of “monastery”. 

Today, munster is made in seven departments around the Vosges. It is a soft, slightly chalky cheese with a washed rind, yellow-orange in color. It is matured in the cellar for at least 21 days. It is during this period that he is developing his nutty and floral flavors at the moment. It is summer, the cows are in the meadows, which gives the cheese a good taste of terroir. It is also during ripening that the Munster paste becomes smooth.

There are several types of munster: the farmer, made on the farm; the milkman, in the cooperatives. Some make it from raw milk and others from pasteurized milk. You have to read the labels to know what you are buying! 

How do you cook it? 

Munster, it is perfect for coating potatoes for example. It coats them when it is melted. It is delicious. But I suggest you use it in bread. We're going to make a Munster cream. 

We start by sautéing a few onions in a pan with smoked bacon. When the bacon and onions are golden brown, add the munster which is melted very slowly so as not to rush it. And when it is melted, we incorporate the crème fraîche. 

All that's left to do is toast a large slice of country bread. Cover it with this delicious mixture and serve with a salad of raw zucchini, marinated in olive oil and lemon, with crushed hazelnuts. 

This is a perfect recipe for those who are afraid of Munster because of its smell. Melted, it is much smoother than on a cheese board. And there, when you go to bite into this bread, you will succumb to its creaminess. 

Ingredients

  • 1 munster
  • 2 onions
  • 200g of bacon
  • 25cl of fresh cream

Marion, do you have an address so you don't take out the stoves? 

Yes ! In the Vosges. It's not really an address, since it's a food-truck and it moves every day. It is called "Ô kam du terroir" (you can find all the addresses here). Behind the stove, Guillaume Delgado showcases the products of his region in wraps made with natural sourdough and flour from the Rehaupal mill. And I advise you to taste “the little pig”, with its Munster sauce, grilled bacon and raw carrots and zucchini.

The little pig: Bacon wrap with Munster sauce

Ingredients

  • ½ munster
  • 20cl of dry white wine
  • 50g of white roux
  • 30cl of cream
  • Pancake

Production

Melt the munster. Add the white wine. Link with the roux. And incorporate the cream.

It remains to garnish a pancake with this preparation.