Almogrote recipe, the typical Canarian cheese pâté from La Gomera

Almogrote is a Canarian sauce with a texture similar to that of pâté, typical of La Gomera. It is one of the most representative recipes of this island and is the result of mixing two basic foods of the area; cured goat’s cheese and pimienta palmera (pepper). Almogrote is actually a recipe for using up hard goat’s cheese. It is also said to be the last trace of a sauce popular in Spain during the Middle Ages known as almodrote.

Today, almogrote is usually served as an appetizer spread on bread or as an accompaniment. The original recipe is made with local goat’s cheese and pimienta picona, a kind of dried pepper with a hot touch. In our recipe we suggest ingredients that you can easily find anywhere, but you can change them or adapt them to your taste.

Almogrote, a simple recipe to taste the Canary Islands. | Shutterstock

Ingredients for the almogrote recipe:

• 250 g of cured goat’s cheese
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 dried choricero pepper or ñora (2 if small)
• 2 tablespoons of sweet or hot paprika
• Mild olive oil

How to make the almogrote:

1. In a bowl with hot water, hydrate the peppers half an hour before starting the almogrote recipe. In another bowl, remove the rind from the cheese and grate it. The harder and drier the cheese, the better, as it will give much more flavour.
2. When the pepper has hydrated, remove the seeds and keep the flesh. Add it to the blender with the peeled garlic and a little oil. Blend and add the mixture to the bowl in which you have reserved the grated cheese. Mix everything together with a spoon and add another splash of oil. Add the paprika and continue mixing until all the ingredients are well integrated.
3. Almogrote should be dense and spreadable, like a pâté; so add more oil if it is too thick or more cheese if it is too liquid. When you have it ready, do not forget to serve it with several pieces of bread to savour this very special Canarian recipe.