It’s the weekend and you are too lazy to cook, all you wish right now is to have a few slices of baguette with a nice spread. Something light but different with an interesting flavor and a hint of spiciness. You open books and magazines and all of a sudden there it is! Something from Chef Oropeza that you can adapt to what you have in your pantry. 15 minutes later, heaven! You pour yourself a drink, sit outside to profit from the last rays of sunshine and feel in harmony with the world.
If you never heard of Requesón, it is a fresh cheese that is popular in Mexico but also in my country Portugal (known as “Requeijao”) and Spain. It has a grainy texture but is very soft and spreadable. It has a mild sweet milky flavor. In Portugal we have it for breakfast mixed with a bit of jam or we can use it as a spread with a bit of salt & freshly ground pepper. It has very little fat, which makes it ideal for diets. It is also known as being a cousin of ricotta cheese, which you can use as a substitute if you can’t find requesón.
Roll of Requesón with Chile Seeds
8 portions
- 2 cups of requesón
- 2 small shallots, thinly chopped
- 2 tbsp toasted chile seeds
- 2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
- a pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp Agave honey (if you can’t find it, you can use honey)
- 3 tbsp tomatoes, chopped
- 2 tbsp green onions (green part only), chopped
- 1 small baguette, toasted
- extra virgin olive oil to taste
- In a big bowl mix the requesón with the shallots, toasted chili seeds, cilantro, black pepper and Agave honey until well incorporated. Cut a rectangle of aluminum foil and place it on your work table. Spread on top the tomatoes and the green onions. In one of the extremities place the requesón mixture and then create a roll, folding the foil and closing.
- Place it in the freezer for about 10 minutes or until firm.
- Cut the roll in thin slices and spread them over the baguette pieces. Sprinkle with a bit of olive oil to taste. Simply delicious!
