Yep, we're still kinda just eating at home....well if you call making a salad eating at home. This time, the Missus wanted something light, full of flavor, yet satisfying. I've always thought about crusting goat cheese with panko, then deep frying, and today was the day.
I cut 1 ounce slices of Lemon Chevre, rolled it into little balls, did the egg wash, then panko with a bit of granulated garlic. Let sit to come closer to room temp, then deep fried. Man was this good, why doesn't everyone do this? We needed to use up all the baby arugula in the fridge, which I supplemented with 20 cents worth of spring mix. Sweet and slight spicy pickled red peppers, kalamata olives, sliced grape tomatoes, and toasted pine nuts completed the salad.
The Missus simply drizzled on some of that "liquid gold" olive oil we bought in Crete and She was good to go. Man that cheese was fantastic, light, a bit of "goo", hints of lemon, savory, all wrapped in a fried crust. This was fast too. In the time it took me to bring the oil up to temp, I had everything prepped. The Missus did comment that a raspberry vinaigrette might go nice with this..... it also sounds like a pretty nice starter salad as well. Add another dish to my list.....
Cook anything new and different this weekend?
You had me at deep fried cheese.
Did a mushrooom and saffron risotto for lunch just now. Infused chicken stock with Spanish saffron and used it to make a risotto. Finished it off with wild mushrooms sauteed in butter and herbs, and some pecarino romano cheese. Gre the herbs myself. :)
Posted by: Chubbypanda | Sunday, 18 September 2011 at 01:40 PM
I love salads so much and a deep fried goat cheese salad sounds amazing! I also had a craving for goat cheese this week so topped a log of fresh chevre with the homemade fig jam that I made last week. It was really good sprinkled with toasted pecans =)
Posted by: Lynnea | Sunday, 18 September 2011 at 02:15 PM
Another new item for us. Thank you :D
Posted by: Yummieyummy | Monday, 19 September 2011 at 02:24 AM
Hi CP - Man that sounds great.
Hi Lynnea - That sounds delish!
Hey YY - We both loved the deep fried goat cheese.....
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 19 September 2011 at 06:42 AM
I've made panko-crusted mozzarella sticks before, but using goat cheese is just brilliant!
Posted by: Alyssa | Monday, 19 September 2011 at 06:44 AM
Hi Alyssa - It's also a little bit more expensive! ;o) Worth it for us though.... I hope you try it out.
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 19 September 2011 at 06:45 AM
That looks soooo amazing! How long does it take to deep fry?
I've always had a hard time w/ goat cheese. Too tangy and weird for me for some reason. I can't do blue cheese or any stinky cheeses either. Weird huh.
But this salad really looks beautiful!
Posted by: Faye | Monday, 19 September 2011 at 10:40 AM
Hi Faye - It takes only a few minutes...it's cheese so it doesn't have to super hot. Funny you should mention the funkiness....I didn't care for really strong flavored cheeses when I was younger, but as I've grown older I enjoy them more. It's also quite funny that many Asians hate curdled milk from an old cows udder, but love stuff like Chou Doufu!
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 20 September 2011 at 06:46 AM
mmm, drooling... I've baked goat cheese, never fried it, sounds fabulous
Posted by: foodhoe | Tuesday, 27 September 2011 at 10:46 AM
Hi FH - It's basically the same thing......but of course it's deep frying! ;O)
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 28 September 2011 at 06:43 AM