Something Sweet with a hint of Lemon 🍋
This summer’s most requested recipes, manchego cheesecake and Saturday shortbread.
Remember our little Charlie riding the tractor, in his massive collection of pink t shirts, blond and mop headed, playing all day and making friends with everyone. In his teen years he moved on to playing his guitar or saxophone, babysitting, pool cleaning and generally being lovely. This summer he turned 19, was home for just the one week of Jalon fiestas, and spent the rest of the summer working in a upmarket restaurant kitchen on the water at Barceloneta. Next week he starts his professional chef training. We are all excited for him. Good luck darling boy. These are recipes he has helped with many times.
Here at Caserio del Mirador, we are much more about the tomatoes and the pulses then we are about sugar and butter, but once in a while something sweet comes along and it always surprises me how much everyone enjoys it. Alicia’s almond cookies were so much the highlight on a Saturday I had to stop serving them so that guests would notice all the other things we do so well. Now we have Alex’s perfect Manchego cheesecake. It took me a while to be converted to the effort of a large cheesecake vs my little Sunday variety, but now that I have cracked it, with the help of an already established Barcelona chef who visited this summer, I think it may even be better than grandmas.
Galletas Limon – otherwise known as Saturday cookies
100g ground almonds
50g rice flour
250g plain flour
Rind of 2 lemons using Charlie’s pro microplane
100g icing sugar (ie normal sugar zapped in the bullet)
½ teaspoon of salt
200g butter and a drop or two of vanilla essence.
Combine the sugar and butter and when soft add in the rest. Then squish it and squash it into a paste. Lay a piece of cling over the work surface and roll the dough in to a sausage shape. Use a bit of olive oil on your hands if is messy, you want a sausage about as fat as you want your cookie, 5cm round maybe. Wrap it up in the cling film, refrigerate for an hour, of freeze for whenever, then slice in to rounds and bake in a low oven, 150 degrees for 20 mins. We serve them as a light desert late on a Saturday night.
Cheesecake on the other hand is the real deal after a paella lunch on Sunday with a raspberry on the side, or a slice of lemon and glass of Mistela. We use Manchego and queso fresco, and not a drop of Philly, so although it may look a bit New York, it is authentically Spanish They’ll be some chunky calories in there but there’s is no gluten! The quantities are alarming, but this makes 2 big ones and they freeze perfectly.
500ml cream
400g sugar
1kg of cheese, I use 200g Manchego grated finely and the rest is queso fresco.
7 eggs
Zest and juice of a good Spanish lemon.
25g cornflour.
A big bowl and a strong elbow is all that’s needed. And a cheese grater. And my new micro plane. Stir it all up and divide between a pair of spring form tins for 40 mins at 175. Make it the day before and freeze, it takes about 4 hours to defrost and get gooey again in the middle. This one has had compliments from even the most seasoned cheesecakers, I was blown away by the reception.
