Brocciu is a fresh cheese made from the whey of ewe’s or goat’s milk, with a little whole milk added. It goes into sweet and savoury dishes alike: omelettes, cannelloni, stuffed vegetables, fritters, fiadone. It is the only Corsican cheese protected by a PDO (protected designation of origin, AOP in French), a status it has held since June 1996: see our page on Corsican cheese for farmhouse tommes.
How is brocciu made?
The PDO specification sets out the method: fresh whey, left over from cheesemaking, is heated over an open flame with raw whole milk (no more than a quarter of the volume) and salt. At around 80 to 90°C, flakes of brocciu rise to the surface. They are ladled into draining baskets and left to drain.
Brocciu is eaten fresh, on the day it is made or within the next few days. Salted and aged for at least 21 days, it becomes brocciu passu, firmer and saltier.
Fresh brocciu is mostly available from December to May or June, while the ewes and goats are in milk. It is one of the products showcased every spring at the cheese fair in Venaco.
Brocciu goes into many dishes: omelettes, cannelloni, stuffed vegetables, storzapreti (brocciu and chard dumplings), Bonifacio-style aubergines, and desserts: fritters (frittelle), migliacci, fiadone, imbrucciata, falculelle.
Brocciu and the PDO
The appellation is written “Brocciu corse” or “Brocciu”. It covers the whole of Corsica and requires local breeds of sheep and goats. For more information and further recipes, see aop-brocciu.com.
Corsican recipes with brocciu
Brocciu omelette
Preparation: 5 min. Cooking: 5 to 8 min, to taste.
Ingredients (serves 4): a few mint leaves, 8 eggs, 250 g brocciu, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper.
Mash the brocciu with a fork, add the eggs and whisk. Season with salt and pepper, then add the mint, cut into thin strips. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, pour in the mixture and cook over a medium heat. Serve the omelette soft in the middle and lightly golden.
Fiadone
A brocciu cake. Preparation: 5 min. Cooking: 45 min.
Ingredients (serves 6): 4 eggs, one 250 g brocciu, 200 g sugar, the grated zest of a lemon.
Blend all the ingredients in a food processor. Butter a 20 cm round tin, pour in the mixture and bake at 180°C (thermostat 6 on a French oven) for 45 minutes. Leave to cool before serving.
Courgettes with brocciu
Preparation: 15 min. Cooking: 15 min in a very hot oven.
Ingredients (serves 5): 5 courgettes, one 500 g brocciu, 2 eggs, 100 g Swiss chard, a few basil leaves, 4 slices of sandwich bread, 50 cl milk, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper.
Blanch the courgettes and chard for 2 to 3 minutes in boiling water. Halve the courgettes lengthways and scoop them out. Crumble the bread and soak it in the milk. Mix the brocciu with the beaten eggs and the soaked bread, then add the chopped chard and basil. Fill the courgettes, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake for 15 minutes in a hot oven (210°C, thermostat 7 on a French oven). Serve with a spicy tomato sauce.
