RECIPES

Cervelle de Canut (Fresh Cheese Beaten with Herbs)

By Edward Behr

Cervelle de canut, “brain of a silk worker,” is an essential Lyonnais food, named for the city’s silk weavers, whose number peaked in the 19th century; they were said to live on it. It combines well-beaten fromage blanc, or fresh cheese, with chopped herbs, the imperative flavors coming from chives and black pepper. The mixture is also called le claqueret, from claquer, which means “to bang,” as in the course of beating. Fresh cheese is unripened and is in principle new-made, but far more common in the United States are unripened white cheeses that have been extruded into plastic like sausage into casings. Loosely speaking, these cheeses are fresh, and, if only because their mediocrity is largely hidden by the other ingredients, they’re appropriate for cervelle de canut, of which there are many versions. Restaurants, out of choice or economy, often reduce the herbs to just chives; cream or crème fraîche is commonly substituted for olive oil; I call for less garlic and vinegar than some (compared with the past, we’re less used to vinegar, and sourness in general); and whether vinegar is needed at all depends on your taste and the acidity of the cheese. Ewe’s milk isn’t produced in the area around Lyon, but you could substitute a ewe’s-milk cheese, with a richer result. Today in the city’s restaurants, cervelle de canut is commonly served as an alternative to or an addition to the course of aged cheeses, but it’s a more logical opening to a meal. It’s best eaten on the day it’s made, with bread, of course.

 

1 pound (500 gr) well-drained fresh cow’s-milk or goat’s-milk cheese

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, very finely chopped or mashed to a paste

3/8 cup (20 gr) finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

3/8 cup (20 gr) finely chopped chervil, optional

3/8 cup (20 gr) finely sliced chives

4 tablespoons (60 ml) excellent, fresh-tasting olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, optional

up to ½ cup (125 ml) dry white wine

salt and black pepper

 

Beat the cheese until it’s smooth and mix in the shallot, garlic, and green herbs. Mix in the olive oil and vinegar, and then enough white wine so that the mixture spreads easily at cool room temperature. Taste and season with salt, if needed, and grind in a generous amount of black pepper. If the cervelle de canut will wait for several hours, refrigerate it, but serve it cool, not chilled. Serves 6 to 8 as a first course.


From The Art of Eating Cookbook

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