
Warm Goats Cheese Salad or Salade de Chevre Chaud, as it's called in French, has to be one of my favorite dishes which is just as well because in France, where I live, it has a place on most menus.
Essentially a Salad de Chevre Chaud literally is warm goats cheese served on a bed of salad.
The goats cheese is almost always placed on a small round of bread (croute) and it's usually eaten as a starter or as a lunchtime main course.
The goats cheese part of a Goats cheese salad comes in many forms and many sizes, the classic being the use of Crottin de Chavignol.
Crottin is a small puck sized goat cheese traditionally from the Loire region in France.
It has a natural rind that varies in color from pale ivory (when young) to almost black (when aged) and is perfect for grilling.
Flavors range from soft and nutty to hard and fruity depending on it's age. Most crottins are used when young however.
Other goats cheese used in Chevre Chaud often depends on where you are in France.
As goats cheese is widely made across France it's more likely to be the local Goats that you'll be having in varying forms from individual cheeses (like a Crottin) to slices cut from a "log".
If you're not in France and can't get hold of Crottin from a specialized cheese shop it's ok to use any goats cheese as long as it's not too soft.
The goats cheese logs that you can find in some higher end stores are fine, just cut them into rounds.
Some deli-counters will sell you a chunk of goats and if it's a large round you can either just have 1 large slice or cut it in half.
Remember - not all goat cheese cooks the same.
Crottins will take between 3 and 4 minutes maybe more if they are hard whereas sliced goat cheese with a soft centre will only take a minute until is starts to boil up.
Bread wise, here in France it's baguette that is used but any bread will work.
Specialty breads are a lovely addition, you can use a walnut bread, a cumin bread or a pumpernickel if you're looking for more flavor.
If you prefer your bread to be crispier you can toast it before putting the cheese on just be careful not to burn the bits showing when grilling the cheese.
Likewise, I have seen recipes where the crottin and breads are toasted separately then assembled for service.
This is ok but be careful, a lot of goats cheeses are tricky to move when warm so I prefer to skip that step and have them already assembled.
As far as the honey goes, where I live mountain honey is drizzled over the top which is delish but if you have a fig chutney or a chilli jelly you can always spread the bread with it and then top with the cheese for a new dimension.
A beautiful accompaniment for goats cheese is beetroot for those who like it and slices of apple or strawberries also work when in season.
Comments
by Gianna (not verified) Jan 09, 2017 Permalink
A couple of years ago I had the most luxurious delicious salad I had ever had. It was indeed warm goat cheese on a bed of shredded beetroot, a little quinoa and some other ingredients smilar to yours, the difference was that the goat cheese was presented in a a very light and fluffy whipped form and yet it was warm. I have since longed to re-produce it. How can I present goat cheese in this very light fluffy form yet warm?
Many thanks
by di Jan 11, 2017 Permalink
Hi Gianna - I love the idea of a bed of beetroot, it's a fabulous accompaniment to goats cheese.
So, for a whipped version of this there are a couple of options:
If you have access to a wide range of goats cheeses there are lighter and airier choices to be found. These are generally younger and softer but take on the same appearence as Crottin although not "whipped'.
The other choice would be to find a young soft goats cheese and whip it yourself (high speed with a whisk on a mixer) then mould into small shapes, refrigerate until the outside goes hard (you can add a crust of your choice such as paprika etc). When you want to use it, put it on a croute and grill it on a semi high heat. Be careful not to overcook though as it will colapse.
As always - the key to warming through goats cheese is not to over cook it and not to make it too hot. Any dairy that has air (ie: whipped) in it will colapse when heated so medium heat until it just starts to loose it's volume then you're set to go.
Hope this helps.
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