Roquefort Carles · Since 1927
FREN

Serve · Pair · Keep

Tasting
& recipes

Roquefort asks for little to reveal itself. A moment, a blade, a plate. Pairings come after, chosen without emphasis, so that the cheese stays at the centre.

Chapter I · The table gesture

How to taste

§ p. 04 · Chapter I— Tasting —
Roquefort Carles tasting platter: walnut bread, Comice pear, fresh walnuts, slice of cheese at room temperature

Four gestures, in order. The paste speaks for itself when it is at temperature and correctly cut. The rest calls for patience and a little attention.

  1. Take the cheese out of the refrigerator thirty minutes before tasting. Cold fixes the aromas; room temperature releases them.
  2. Cut in a fan from the point towards the heel. Each portion thus receives a balanced share of paste and rind, of white and blue.
  3. Let it rest on the plate for a few minutes before serving. The surface dries lightly and the aromas open up.
  4. Serve on a ceramic or marble plate. Avoid wood at the table: it holds humidity and odours. Wood is made for the cave, not for the place setting.
Cold fixes, warmth reveals.house rule

Chapter II · The paired table

What goes
with the cheese

§ p. 10 · Chapter II— The pairings —

Range I · The reference

Convoitise

Dense paste, pronounced blue, signature of the travet. Pairings of scale to carry its length.

Wines

i.
  • Sauternes
  • Maury sweet
  • Vin jaune
  • Banyuls
  • Port LBV

Assumed sugar, oxidation, acidity that holds: three ways not to bend before the dense blue.

Breads

ii.
  • Mountain rye
  • Walnut bread
  • Buckwheat
  • Aveyronnaise tourte

Dense crumbs and marked crusts. A bread that holds the slice without fading.

Dried fruits

iii.
  • Fresh walnuts
  • Dried figs
  • Soft apricots
  • Toasted almonds

Dry grain against tender flesh, a discreet counterpoint that extends the paste.

Honeys

iv.
  • Chestnut
  • Buckwheat
  • Fir

Dark, woody honeys, slightly bitter. Avoid floral honeys, which get covered.

Range II · The gateway

Élégance

Delicate blue, measured salinity, quiet length. Gentle pairings to let the softness speak.

Wines

i.
  • Jurançon moelleux
  • Muscat de Rivesaltes
  • Young Port LBV
  • Chardonnay on lees

Gentle sweet wines or vins doux naturels. The sugar settles without forcing.

Breads

ii.
  • Country bread
  • Fig bread
  • Wheat tourte
  • Gingerbread

Less dense crumbs, fine crusts. Breads that accompany without taking over.

Dried fruits

iii.
  • Dried muscat grapes
  • Prunes
  • Roasted hazelnuts
  • Quince paste

Sweet touches and candied fruits, which extend the softness of the paste without tipping it into dessert.

Honeys

iv.
  • Acacia
  • Lime
  • Orange blossom

Clear, floral honeys — your choice, depending on the mood and the season.

Two readings of the same grammar. The milk, the hand, time, and what sits alongside on the slate.

Chapter III · At home

Conservation

§ p. 18 · Chapter III— Keeping —

Roquefort is a living cheese. It goes on evolving after purchase, gently, provided it is well kept. Three rules are enough.

Temperature

Keep between 4 and 6 °C, preferably in the crisper drawer rather than on the colder shelves of the refrigerator.

Take out thirty minutes before tasting. Put back quickly afterwards. The back-and-forth does not disturb the paste. Prolonged warmth, however, exhausts it.

Wrapping

Wrap in waxed or parchment paper. Avoid cling film, which suffocates the rind and makes the paste sweat.

Then place in an airtight box to isolate the aromas. Roquefort is an assertive neighbour in a refrigerator. Best to contain it.

Duration

Élégance is ideally eaten within two weeks of purchase. Convoitise keeps up to three, sometimes longer if the piece is thick.

Beyond that, the cheese is not lost: it deepens. Salt becomes more prominent, the paste more pronounced. Better to buy in small quantities and renew often.

What holds for several months in industrial wrapping is no longer what the affineur handed to the customer.

Chapter IV · At the table

Three signature
recipes

§ p. 24 · Chapter IV— The leaflets —

Leaflet I · autumn-winter

At the start of a meal

Opening tartine

A slice of Élégance at room temperature, placed on a toasted walnut bread. Half a Comice pear and a touch of chestnut honey. To be served with a glass of Jurançon moelleux, well chilled, at the opening of an autumn meal.

Ingredients

  • Walnut bread · four slices
  • Roquefort Carles Élégance · 80 g
  • Comice pear · one, well ripe
  • Chestnut honey · one spoonful
  • Freshly ground black pepper

The gestures

  1. Take the Élégance out thirty minutes ahead, so it returns to room temperature.
  2. Toast the bread on a rack, dry. Do not brown it; simply firm up the crust.
  3. Cut the pear into thin quarters, without peeling. Place a slice of cheese on each tartine.
  4. A drizzle of honey, two turns of the pepper mill. Serve at once, before the toast tires.

Suggested pairing · young Jurançon moelleux, served at 9 °C. Alternative · Muscat de Rivesaltes for a rounder profile.

Opening tartine: toasted walnut bread, Roquefort Carles Élégance, Comice pear and chestnut honey

Leaflet II · all year round

Main course

Aveyronnais risotto

A creamy risotto finished with Convoitise melted off the heat, just before serving. A few sprigs of chives, a turn of the pepper mill. The dense paste carries the dish without weighing it down. To be paired with a rocket salad.

Ingredients

  • Carnaroli rice · 320 g
  • Poultry stock · 1 L
  • Shallot · one, finely chopped
  • Dry white wine · 100 ml
  • Roquefort Carles Convoitise · 120 g
  • Grated Parmesan · 60 g
  • Chives · one bunch
  • Butter · 40 g

The gestures

  1. Sweat the shallot in the butter without colouring. Add the rice, nacre for two minutes.
  2. Deglaze with white wine. Once absorbed, incorporate the hot stock one ladle at a time, stirring.
  3. After seventeen minutes, remove from heat. Mount with crumbled Convoitise and Parmesan, without cooking again.
  4. Cover for two minutes. Add the chopped chives, a turn of pepper. Serve in a deep plate.

Suggested pairing · Jura vin jaune served cool. Alternative · a dry white Burgundy on fine lees.

Leaflet III · winter

The chef's signature

Chef's sauce

Convoitise melted in a little whole milk, a pinch of grated nutmeg, freshly ground black pepper. To be served on a game fillet, a duck breast or simple fresh pasta. The signature of the wood comes through clearly in the heat. This is where Convoitise sets itself apart from an industrial Roquefort.

Ingredients

  • Roquefort Carles Convoitise · 150 g
  • Whole milk · 150 ml
  • Thick crème fraîche · 50 g
  • Grated nutmeg · a pinch
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Beurre noisette · 20 g (optional)

The gestures

  1. Warm the milk over low heat, without boiling. Stir in the crumbled Convoitise and mix until it melts.
  2. Add the crème fraîche, bring to a gentle simmer. The sauce should coat the spoon without covering it.
  3. Season with nutmeg, add pepper. Do not salt: the Convoitise takes care of it.
  4. Option · finish with beurre noisette off the heat, to lengthen the sauce with a toasted note.

Suggested pairing · a full-bodied red, Madiran or Cahors. Alternative · aged Banyuls for a sauce served on game.

Dense paste and pronounced blue of Roquefort Carles Convoitise, signature of the wooden travet and natural caves

§ Views · Beyond the kitchens

Recognition · Starred tables & Meilleurs Ouvriers de France

On the platters of chefs who know, the Carles is recognised without anyone needing to name it.

In the catalogue

Starred houses, Meilleurs Ouvriers de France cheesemongers, heritage table d'hôtes, from Aveyron to Paris and from Lyon to the Basque coast.

Paris · Lyon · Toulouse · Bordeaux · Nice

To continue

Straight from the Maison

To know a Roquefort Carles, nothing replaces coming to collect it and tasting it on site.

Visit the shopBack to the ranges