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Postre vigilante
Postre vigilante: slices of mild cheese with quince or sweet potato paste, the bodegón dessert
Ask for dessert in an old Buenos Aires bodegón and the waiter will rattle off flan, budín and, inevitably, vigilante: a thick slab of soft, mild cheese laid beside an equal slab of dulce de membrillo or dulce de batata. The name, "policeman", is said to come from the beat officers who ordered it as a cheap sweet in early twentieth-century cafés; Uruguayans call the same plate Martín Fierro. It is salty against sweet, creamy against firm, and takes five minutes. The traditional cheese is fresh queso cremoso or cuartirolo, or a firmer port salut; a young Havarti or mild Gouda is the best stand-in abroad. Like many soft cheeses, these are often made with animal rennet, so check the label for a vegetarian (microbial-rennet) cheese. The usual error is cutting the slabs thin like a cheese board; vigilante is about generous, equal bricks. Chef's tip: take the cheese out of the fridge 20 minutes ahead; cold cheese tastes of nothing next to the paste.
- Total time
- 5 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 14 oz soft mild cheesequeso cremoso, cuartirolo, port salut or young Havarti; choose one made with vegetarian rennet
- 10 ½ oz quince pastedulce de membrillo
- 10 ½ oz sweet potato paste (optional)dulce de batata, or more quince paste
- 8 walnut halves (optional)
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Method
0/3 doneStep 1: Take 14 oz soft mild cheese out of the fridge 20 minutes before serving, then cut it into 4 thick slabs about 1.5 cm deep.
Step 2: Cut 10 ½ oz quince paste, and 10 ½ oz sweet potato paste if using, into slabs the same size as the cheese.
Step 3: Lay each slab of cheese on a plate beside or on top of a slab of paste, add a couple of 8 walnut halves if you like, and serve with a knife and fork.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 20 g
- Carbs
- 48 g
- Fat
- 23 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does postre vigilante take?
- About 5 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
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