Salade de chèvre chaud au miel

goat cheese salad2

Mixed greens with goat cheese and honey

Goat cheese, honey, herbs from Provence and fresh mint add up to give this salad a slightly wild combination of flavors. For best results choose a semi-ripened goat cheese — for example, a crottin de Chavignol, as shown above — with a rich flavor, not too sharp.

The ingredients listed here are for a salad for one person. Just multiply the quantities by the number of people you’re serving. This salad makes a fine lunch dish or a friendly starter for an evening meal. It takes only a few minutes to make.

2 small slices of bread, or 1 larger slice cut in half
1 crottin or a similar goat cheese
pinch of herbes de provence or thyme
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
pinch of salt
1 tbsp. olive oil

freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic

1 tsp. honey
1/2 tsp. olive oil

2 handfuls mixed greens

2 stems fresh mint

Toast the bread lightly. While it’s toasting, cut the goat cheese in half horizontally if it’s a crottin, or into similar rounds if you are using another type of cheese.

Place the toasted bread in a baking pan, like a pie tin. Place one cheese round on top of each slice. Sprinkle a pinch of the dried herbs on each cheese round. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to gas mark 6 (400 F, 180 C).

While the oven is heating up, make the dressing. In a salad bowl, combine the balsamic and the mustard. Add some salt. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil. Stir to blend. Grind in some black pepper. Peel and halve the garlic clove. Add it to the dressing (you will remove it later).

Drizzle the honey over the cheese rounds. Now spoon on a few drops of olive oil. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the cheese starts to melt.

Remove the garlic from the dressing. Add the greens and mint leaves and toss. Serve the salad on individual plates, topped with the warm cheese.

This salad marries well with a fruity beaujolais, like a Brouilly or Fleurie, or a flinty white from the Loire, like a Sancerre or a Quincy.

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