Three-Cheese Spanish Board with Quince Paste and Marcona Almonds

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A no-cook Spanish cheese plate built the way tapas bars do it: three cheeses that cover the whole flavor range — nutty aged sheep's milk, tangy wine-washed goat, and a creamy blue — each cut in its own shape, then framed with quince paste, marcona almonds, honey and good bread. Twenty minutes of assembly, an hour on the counter, and you have the best-value appetizer on any table.

Ingredients

• 6 oz Manchego, aged 6–12 months (curado)
• 5 oz Murcia al Vino (wine-soaked goat cheese) or Garrotxa
• 4 oz Valdeón or Cabrales blue cheese

• 5 oz membrillo (quince paste)
• 3 tbsp honey, preferably orange blossom or chestnut
• 4 dried Mission figs or Medjool dates
• 1 ripe pear or crisp apple

• 1 cup marcona almonds, salted
• 1/2 cup Manzanilla or Gordal olives, drained
• 2 oz thinly sliced jamón serrano (optional)
• 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pinch flaky sea salt

• 1 crusty baguette or rustic loaf, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 3 oz picos or thin crackers
• chilled fino or amontillado sherry, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Take all three cheeses out of the refrigerator 45 to 60 minutes before serving and leave them on the counter, still wrapped, on a plate. Cold cheese tastes like almost nothing; at 60–68°F the Manchego turns nutty and the blue goes creamy. This is the single most important step on the whole board.
2. Choose your surface: a wooden board, marble slab, or large flat platter at least 12 inches across. Set out three small knives or spreaders — one per cheese — plus a small bowl for olive pits and a shallow bowl or ramekin for the honey.
3. Cut the Manchego first. Slice off and discard the waxy rind edge if it is thick, then cut the wedge into thin triangles about 1/8 inch thick, following the natural taper of the wedge so each slice has some rind side and some center. Fan them in an overlapping row along one third of the board.
4. Cut the Murcia al Vino into 1/4-inch-thick wedges or slim batons, leaving the purple wine-washed rind on — it is edible and it is the whole point of the cheese. Stack them loosely in a second zone so the magenta rind shows.
5. Leave the blue in a rough, generous chunk rather than slicing it: Valdeón and Cabrales crumble and smear, so let guests break off what they want. Set it on its own corner of the board (or on a small separate plate if you have anyone blue-averse), drizzle with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil, and finish with a pinch of flaky salt.
6. Cut the membrillo into 1/4-inch-thick slabs, then into 1-inch squares or small triangles — about 18 pieces. Tuck a cluster right next to the Manchego; that pairing is the classic, and putting them side by side is a silent instruction to your guests.
7. Fill the gaps: mound the marcona almonds in one open space, the olives in another, halve the figs or dates and scatter them near the blue cheese, and pour the honey into its ramekin and set it beside the blue with a small spoon. Drape the jamón in loose ribbons, if using, along an edge.
8. Core and slice the pear or apple into thin wedges just before serving so they do not brown, and set them near the goat cheese. Pile the bread and crackers in a basket alongside the board rather than on it, so the cheese stays uncrowded and easy to reach.
9. Serve immediately, with chilled fino or amontillado sherry if you have it. Point guests toward the three canonical bites: Manchego with membrillo, wine-washed goat with pear, and blue cheese with honey and an almond.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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