Why are cheese and seafood supposedly a bad combination? It's delicious! (2024)

The Italian culinary doctrine – a constitution supported by Italy's domestic matriarchs and under which transgressions are punishable neither with dinner nor death – is very clear on this subject.

Kaas en zeevruchten mogen niet gemengd worden. Ooit.

But if you wander around France long enough, you're bound to come across someone cooking mussels in an earthy blue cheese broth spiked with white wine and garlic. In Chile, you'll see millennials and retirees alike ordering plates of Machas à La Parmesana, mussels sautéed in wine, butter and a mild-tasting Chilean version of Parmesan cheese. And who can forget the social gatherings of the 1990s, when no party was complete without oyster dip with enough cream cheese to send a marathon runner into cardiac arrest?

If the idea of ​​combining seafood and cheese is such a widely accepted global phenomenon, why is the concept so unpalatable to so many Italian home cooks? And yes, let's not just point fingers at the Italians. Many people in the United States have embraced this idea, if only because they have heard it since birth.

Where does this commandment come from? One explanation may come from the common sense of taste: seafood tends to have a more delicate composition, and these subtle flavors can be drowned out by a boisterous, assertive cheese. Because cheese is produced by fermenting milk, microbial factors such as fungi, enzymes and friendly bacteria cause drastic changes in the chemical components of the milk, often intensifying its flavor. Cheese also loses moisture as it ages, further concentrating its complex flavor and fatty texture. It's no wonder that cheese can easily drown out the understated qualities of seafood.

Some seafood is particularly delicate – such as flounder, haddock, mussels, oysters and shad – and must be carefully seasoned during cooking. That's why many recipes using these proteins rely on simplicity; a pinch of green peppercorns, a quick sourness of lemon juice, maybe a dollop of tarragon butter. The stronger personalities of some cheeses would erase the subtle sweet and salty notes, leaving no flavors except, well, cheese.

Another explanation for this taboo may lie in Italy's geography. Major cheese-making regions such as Piedmont, Trentino Alto Adige, Lombardy and Veneto are all largely landlocked. Their regions have a terroir that makes it easy for livestock to graze, and so their kitchens are mostly used to adding cheeses such as Grana Padano, Bra or Asiago as both a primary and supporting ingredient. Due to their distance from the sea, few people in these regions had easy access to a constant supply of fresh fish and shellfish (despite rivers or lakes and not necessarily always a source of abundance). So recipes can probably evolve over centuries without taking seafood into consideration.

But as always, the rules are there to be broken. We're not saying you shouldn't combine fish and cheese. Instead, we're enthusiastic advocates of a clever combination of fish and dairy, and in the hands of an experienced chef, recipes that combine the two can light up the roof and take both ingredients to new heights. “When used correctly, cheese can enhance the flavor of many seafood dishes,” saysDennis Kleine, a chef and culinary instructor with decades of experience under his belt. “The old ways are falling by the wayside as chefs have become more creative with the mix of flavors. One of my most popular offerings was a seafood Alfredo, including shrimp, scallops and crabmeat. It was amazing!”

You don't have to be a classically trained chef to combine cheese and seafood at home. Think of pizza, where salted fillets of fatty, pickled anchovies mix their oil with oil from melted mozzarella. Or look for classic dishes like sea bass with fresh chevré and chopped herbs, bagels with cream cheese and lox, and our personal dinner favorite, salmon fillets soaked in a Parmesan bread crumb mixture before being seared in butter. These dishes work, and they work well.

And then it seems like seafood and cheese can work really well. “It's really about finding a balance,” saysKirsten Jackson, trained chef and author of It's Not You, It's Brie: Unwrapping America's Unique Culture of Cheese. “Fish and cheese can be a sensitive pair, but when done right they can be as endearing as an octogenarian couple walking down the street holding hands.”

Stephanie Stiavetti and Garrett McCord are the authors ofMELTED: The art of macaroni and cheese,available now at Amazon and local retailers.

Brigante with tilapia, shallots, spring herbs and fusilli

Tilapia's subtle sensitivity to marine life is easily drowned out by complex flavors, although a traditionally spicy béarnaise sauce highlights the fish's tender nature. Here we've recreated that experience by combining shallots, tarragon and chervil (all classic herb flavors) with Brigante, a soft, buttery sheep's milk cheese that adds a hint of spice to the dish. Shredded tilapia makes this creamy stovetop dish an incredibly decadent experience without the extra weight; a perfect combination of cheese and seafood.

4 tablespoons butter, divided

¼ cup chopped shallots

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

4 teaspoons chopped chervil

½ teaspoon coarsely ground black peppercorns

¼ cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc

2 small tilapia fillets, about 1⁄2 pounds total

8 ounces fusilli

2 cups of milk

2 tablespoons of flour

½ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

7 ounces Brigante, rind removed, grated

Lemon wedges for decoration

1. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until soft, then add the tarragon, chervil and pepper. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, then add the white wine. Cook, still stirring constantly, until a good amount of liquid has boiled off - about 2 minutes. Place the shallots and herbs in a small bowl and return the pan to the heat.

2. In the same frying pan (do not rinse), add 1 tablespoon of butter and turn up the heat. Fry the tilapia fillets for 3 minutes on each side, making sure you get a nice crispy layer where the fish touches the pan. Place the mixture in a bowl and coarsely chop it with two forks. Put aside.

3. Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain through a colander and set aside.

4. To prepare the mornay sauce, heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Turn off the heat once the milk starts to steam and small bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Place the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan and melt over medium heat. Add the flour and stir with a flat-edged wooden paddle until the roux begins to turn a light brown color. Scrape the bottom to prevent burning, about 3 minutes. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thick enough to evenly coat the back of a spoon. When you run your finger along the back of the spoon, a clear streak should remain. Increase the heat to medium, add salt, pepper and fried shallots and herbs. Remove from heat and add cheese to the sauce, stirring until completely melted.

5. Add the paste to the morning in a large bowl and stir to coat. Gently fold in the shredded fish; you don't want to break it. Serve warm and garnish with lemon wedges.

Alternative osteos: San Andreas, Berkswell, Shepherd's way Friesago, Young Mahón

Wine pairing: Muscadet from the Loire Valley (Grape Melon de Bourgogne), French Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Grechetto or Vermentino from Italy

Additional combinations for the cheese: Lucques or picholine olives, roasted red pepper with olive oil, smoked paprika

Mussels in white wine broth with Fourme d'Ambert

Bright, tender and salty mussels love the spotlight when they are on stage. In the supporting role, we recommend a flavorful stock that gently embraces each individual piece of meat without looking like a prima donna. Here we combine our shellfish with Fourme d'Ambert, one of France's oldest cheeses, for a touch of earth and sweet cream, both of which enhance the mild salty properties of the mussels. Who said blue cheese and seafood don't go together?

Waitress 4

2 pounds Prince Edward Island clams

8 ounces spiral pasta

2 tablespoons of butter

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

6 ounce Fourme d'Ambert, smuldret

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

A pinch of finishing salt such as Kosher, Maldon, Sel Gris (do not use iodized table salt)

A crispy bread roll to serve with it

1. Soak the mussels in a large pan of cold water for about 30 minutes, so that they spit out any sand or grit. Discard the water and cover the mussels again with fresh, cold water for another 30 minutes to allow some additional cleaning time.

2. De-shell the mussels by grabbing their byssal threads (their "beards") and giving them a good tug until they come loose. Discard the beard and set the mussels aside. Discard any mussels that are not closed, as they are already dead and inedible.

3. Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until tenderal dente. Drain the pasta through a colander and set aside.

4. While the pasta is cooking, place a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter and let it melt. When the butter starts to bubble a little, add the onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened slightly.

5. Add white wine and pepper. Bring to the boil and add the Fourme d'Ambert. When the cheese melts into the wine, reduce the heat to low and add the mussels. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and leave for about 6 to 7 minutes, stirring the mussels well after about 2 minutes. 4 minutes. Discard any mussels that are closed because they were dead before cooking. (Some may be only slightly open; if you have to debate whether it's okay to eat or not, throw it away. Better safe than sorry.) Remove from heat.

6. Squeeze lemon juice over the mussels and mix with the parsley and the last of the salt. Pour the pasta into wide bowls, pour over the mussels and stock and serve.

Alternative osteo: Gorgonzola Dolce, Cashel Blue, Roquefort, Cambozola

Wine pairings: dry Chenin Blanc, sparkling Chenin Blanc, dry Rosé

Additional combinations for the cheese outside of this recipe: membrillo, quince jam, apple butter