Idiazabal
Photo: Xavigivax · CC BY-SA 3.0

History

Idiazabal cheese has been made in the Basque Country and Navarre highlands since pre-Roman times, traditionally by shepherds who smoked the cheese over beech and hawthorn wood to preserve it. The PDO classification covers cheese from raw milk of Latxa and Carranzana sheep only. La Vina del Ensanche, Ganbara and Atari Gastroteka all carry serious Idiazabal selections.

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Common allergens: Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 20 minTotal 1 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 200g young Idiazabal (2 to 3 months aged, unsmoked)
  • 200g medium Idiazabal (6 to 8 months, lightly smoked)
  • 200g extra-aged Idiazabal (10 to 12 months, smoked)
  • 200g jamon Iberico bellota
  • 100g chorizo Iberico, sliced
  • 150g membrillo (quince paste)
  • 100g walnut halves
  • 100g raw Basque honey (chestnut or mountain herb)
  • 1 country sourdough or pain de campagne
  • 150ml top-quality Basque or Spanish extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 bottle Txakoli or Rioja Blanco, chilled
  • Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Method

  1. Take all the cheeses out of the fridge 60 minutes before serving. Cold Idiazabal tastes blunt; at room temperature the lamb-meadow aromatics open up.
  2. Cut each cheese into a distinct shape: young Idiazabal into 1cm batons; medium into 5mm wedges; extra-aged into thin slivers shaved with a vegetable peeler.
  3. Arrange the three cheeses across a wooden board, lightest to oldest left to right.
  4. Drape jamon and chorizo Iberico in loose folds at one end.
  5. Slice the membrillo thin and lay alongside the cheese in matching strips. Pile walnuts in a corner.
  6. Place the honey in a small bowl with a wooden honey dipper.
  7. Tear the sourdough into rough pieces and add to a basket on the side.
  8. Pour the olive oil into a small bowl with sea salt and pepper for dipping.
  9. Pour the wine cold into stemmed white-wine glasses.
  10. Taste in order: young first (milky, gentle); medium (nutty, gently smoky); extra-aged (intense smoke, deep umami). Pair each with bread, olive oil, membrillo and honey and note the combinations that sing.

Tip from the editors. Buy from a Basque cheese shop or serious deli; supermarket Idiazabal misses the raw-milk complexity. Smoked and unsmoked are both legitimate; serve both.

Where to eat idiazabal

Idiazabal in San Sebastián

Ganbara ★ 4.8

€€€ BasqueParte Vieja

Ganbara on San Jeronimo in San Sebastian's Old Town has run the Martinez-Ortuzar family kitchen since 1984, anchored by an autumn mushroom counter.

OrderThe autumn setas counter with egg yolk; spider crab baked in its shell.

TipCounter walk-in, basement takes reservations. October to December is peak mushroom season.

Directions Book

Atari Gastroteka ★ 4.4

€€ Spanish tapasUntil Sun-Thu 01:00, Fri-Sat 02:30

Atari Gastroteka on Calle Mayor in San Sebastian's Old Town keeps the pintxos counter and the Txakoli pour going past midnight, with the church-step terrace.

TryPintxos and Txakoli on the church-step terrace

TipCounter and terrace open until 02:30 at weekends. No reservations.

Directions

La Vina ★ 4.5

€ Basque

La Vina on Calle 31 de Agosto in San Sebastian sells the burnt Basque cheesecake wedge from the counter under 5 euros, the city's most famous dessert.

TryTarta de queso wedge

TipWedge to take away or eat standing. Closed Mondays.

Directions Book

Casa Vergara ★ 4.2

€ Basque

Casa Vergara on Calle Mayor in San Sebastian's Old Town since 1948 turns out the bacalao al pil pil pintxo for under 4 euros, the canonical budget bite.

TryBacalao al pil pil pintxo with a glass of Txakoli

TipTerrace fills first; the pintxo plus Txakoli is under 6 euros.

Directions

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