Catalonia, Spain
The simplest and possibly most perfect Catalan dessert — fresh unsalted curd cheese (mató) drizzled with dark wildflower honey. Nothing else. Mató is made from either cow's or goat's milk, heated, curdled with rennet or lemon, and drained — producing a white, soft, grainy curd with mild acidity and clean dairy flavour. The honey should be dark and assertive: rosemary, thyme, or eucalyptus from the Catalan interior. This is the dessert that follows escudella at the Christmas table, and also the everyday dessert of Catalonia. Its power is in the contrast: the neutral dairy against the floral bitterness of the honey.
Fresh mató is served the same day it is made. Honey must be of strong character — pale, mild honey disappears against the cheese. The cheese is served cold or at cool room temperature. Ratio is personal but approximately equal volumes of cheese and honey by eye. No additional flavourings are traditional, though some add pine nuts.
Mató can be made at home easily from whole milk heated to 82°C, with lemon juice or rennet, left to drain for 2 hours. If mató is unavailable, fresh ricotta is the closest commercial substitute, though slightly more granular. The best mel i mató in Catalonia is found at farmhouse restaurants (masies) where both cheese and honey come from the same property.
Using cottage cheese or ricotta as substitutes — the texture and flavour are different. Serving too cold — the cheese should be cool but not refrigerator-cold. Using mild, sweet honey — the bitterness of assertive honey is the contrast that makes the dish work.
The Food of Spain by Claudia Roden