Recipe Book№ 2 · Summer Trend 2026: Exotic-Complex
La Dehesa del Sol
Bellota Ibérico · Mango & Passion Fruit · Manchego Curado
Why This Ham
Bellota is the result of freedom: Cerdo Ibérico pigs roam for months beneath cork oaks, eating acorns. The intramuscular fat tastes of nut, earth, deep spice. Mango and passion fruit need exactly this intensity as a counterpoint.
Flavor Profile
Deeply savoury, acorn-nutty, a long umami note. Mango brings tropical sweetness, passion fruit a piercing acidity that cleanses the palate. Manchego Curado adds dry saltiness. The result: sweet → salty → sour → long.
What's New
Ibérico is usually known plain on the board. Here it becomes a composition: mango and passion fruit bring a Caribbean lightness into the weight of the Bellota. That is contrast as a stylistic device.
Canapé
- Cut mango into 2 cm cubes; halve passion fruit and have the seeds ready.
- Fold a Bellota slice so it forms a loose fan.
- Break Manchego into small triangles — no knife, show character!
- On a mini-cracker: Manchego, Bellota fan, mango cube, passion-fruit seeds.
- Add a Marcona almond, a drop of flower honey over it.
The Tray
- Dark wooden board or black slate — no white board here.
- Lay Bellota slices in large waves across the left half.
- Mango wedges at an angle to them, distribute passion-fruit halves.
- Stack Manchego splinters on the right — rustic look intended.
- Marcona almonds in a small copper bowl, wildflower-honey jar alongside.
The Story
The Dehesa — the Spanish steppe beneath cork oaks — is no random place. Since Roman times the black Ibérico pigs have grazed there. Their unique genetics let them store oleic acid in the muscles. More than 36 months of Extremadura's mountain air turn a good ham into a monument.