Pecorino Romano Shortbread Cookies with Balsamic Strawberry Jam

Cheese in cookies?  May sound a bit wierd to some, but I was watching the Cooking Channel the other day and I saw this delicious looking Roquefort shortbread.   They said it had a wonderful salty, sweet and rich flavor and melted in your mouth.  I really wanted to try making it creating my own recipe of course, but had no Roquefort on hand at the time.  So I decided instead to try Pecorino Romano shortbread.  Why not?  Pecorino Romano has a wonderful salty flavor that I love, and I thought that when paired with sweet shortbread it would give that salty sweet crunchy combination that I crave.  I decided to add in black pepper as well, because I love it with Pecorino Romano!  Before you go thinking that this is all sounding a bit bizarre, and wierd, I have to say it was damn delicious!  Once baked it smelled wonderful, and it did have just the salty sweet flavor I was looking for!  Not to mention the crumbly buttery quality that shortbread has which was perfect with the cheese.  I loved it on it's own, but I felt like it would be really good with strawberries! 

I love Pecorino Romano with black pepper and strawberries with a little balsamic syrup as a dessert, but I didn't have any fresh berries to just slice and eat with it.  What I did have was some frozen strawberries, and I thought it would be fun to make some home made strawberry balsamic jam.  So I made my first attempt at jam (not the canned type), and it was a success!  It would be wonderful on toast, but it was delicious with the shortbread.  The sweet balsamic laced strawberries were a perfect pairing with the salty cheesy shortbread!  I know there are still skeptics out there about whether cheese in shortbread is good, but don't knock it 'till you try it, and you will love it when you do!  Here is the recipe for both the shortbread and jam if you would like to try some!

Pecorino Romano Shortbread Cookies with Balsamic Strawberry Jam

Makes 12

Shortbread:

2 sticks organic butter, at room temperature
 3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups finely shredded pecorino romano cheese
2 tsp black peppercorns, crushed into small pieces

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with the rack set in the center. Cream together butter, and sugar in a large bowl.  Add cheese, pepper and salt, and mix together until well blended, then add flour and mix until well combined.  Press the dough into an 8 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Score the shortbread into 12 wedges, and prick each wedge a couple times with a fork if desired.   Sprinke the top of the shortbread with turbinado sugar, and place in the freezer to chill for 15-30 minutes until cold. Remove from the freezer and bake for about 20 minutes until set and lightly brown. go over the score marks again with the knife when removed from the oven. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Balsamic Strawberry Jam:
2 bags frozen strawberries 10 oz each

3/4 cups agave nectar

1/4 cup good quality balsamic vinegar

Lightly blend strawberries, agave nectar, balsamic vinegar in blender (you want to keep it chunky). Pour mixture into pot, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Let simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour jam into an air tight container. Jam will store in your refrigerator for several months.