Macadamia Goat Cheese
Goat cheese was unknown in the United States until Laura Chenel came on the scene in the late 1970s. Raised in Sonoma in a farming family, she returned from a fact-finding trip to France to make her own chèvre. Another young woman, named Alice Walters, placed a standing order for her French-inspired restaurant in Berkeley, Chez Panisse, and the fromagerie took off. This warm goat-cheese appetizer salutes them both.
MAKES 6–8 SERVINGS
SWEET SOY GLAZE
½ cup/100 g sugar
¼ cup/60 ml tamari or soy sauce
2 tsp jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
1 tsp Asian sesame oil
MANGO SALSA
1 ripe mango, pitted, peeled, and
cut into ½-in./12-mm dice
2 Tbsp red bell pepper, diced (¼-in./6 mm)
2 Tbsp green onion, white and green parts, thinly sliced on
a sharp diagonal
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
5 oz./140 g fresh white goat
cheese, preferably Laura Chenel Chévre
1/3 cup/35 g macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp clarified butter
Crisp flatbread, for serving
Instructions
1
To make the glaze: Bring the sugar, tamari, and chiles to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar and taking care that the mixture doesn’t boil over. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in the sesame oil. Let cool completely. (The glaze can be cooled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 5 days. If the glaze is too thick, thin with hot water.)
2
To make the salsa: Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl, seasoning to taste with the salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.
3
Divide the goat cheese into 2 equal portions and shape into balls. Roll each ball in the nuts to coat. Flatten each ball into a disk about 2 ½ in./6 cm wide and ¾ in./2 cm thick. Coat each disk in nuts again to cover the newly exposed surfaces.
4
Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the clarified butter and melt. Add the goat cheese and cook until lightly browned on the bottom, about 90 seconds. Carefully flip the goat cheese and cook to brown the other side, about 90 seconds more. Transfer the goat cheese to a platter.
5
Spoon about 1 heaping Tbsp of salsa next to each piece of goat cheese. Reserve the remaining salsa for another use. Drizzle the plate with glaze and serve with the flatbread.
Macadamia Goat Cheese
Goat cheese was unknown in the United States until Laura Chenel came on the scene in the late 1970s. Raised in Sonoma in a farming family, she returned from a fact-finding trip to France to make her own chèvre. Another young woman, named Alice Walters, placed a standing order for her French-inspired restaurant in Berkeley, Chez Panisse, and the fromagerie took off. This warm goat-cheese appetizer salutes them both.
MAKES 6–8 SERVINGS
SWEET SOY GLAZE
½ cup/100 g sugar
¼ cup/60 ml tamari or soy sauce
2 tsp jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
1 tsp Asian sesame oil
5 oz./140 g fresh white goat
cheese, preferably Laura Chenel Chévre
1/3 cup/35 g macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp clarified butter
Crisp flatbread, for serving
MANGO SALSA
1 ripe mango, pitted, peeled, and
cut into ½-in./12-mm dice
2 Tbsp red bell pepper, diced (¼-in./6 mm)
2 Tbsp green onion, white and green parts, thinly sliced on
a sharp diagonal
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
1
To make the glaze: Bring the sugar, tamari, and chiles to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar and taking care that the mixture doesn’t boil over. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in the sesame oil. Let cool completely. (The glaze can be cooled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 5 days. If the glaze is too thick, thin with hot water.)
2
To make the salsa: Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl, seasoning to taste with the salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.
3
Divide the goat cheese into 2 equal portions and shape into balls. Roll each ball in the nuts to coat. Flatten each ball into a disk about 2 ½ in./6 cm wide and ¾ in./2 cm thick. Coat each disk in nuts again to cover the newly exposed surfaces.
4
Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the clarified butter and melt. Add the goat cheese and cook until lightly browned on the bottom, about 90 seconds. Carefully flip the goat cheese and cook to brown the other side, about 90 seconds more. Transfer the goat cheese to a platter.
5
Spoon about 1 heaping Tbsp of salsa next to each piece of goat cheese. Reserve the remaining salsa for another use. Drizzle the plate with glaze and serve with the flatbread.
Macadamia Goat Cheese
Goat cheese was unknown in the United States until Laura Chenel came on the scene in the late 1970s. Raised in Sonoma in a farming family, she returned from a fact-finding trip to France to make her own chèvre. Another young woman, named Alice Walters, placed a standing order for her French-inspired restaurant in Berkeley, Chez Panisse, and the fromagerie took off. This warm goat-cheese appetizer salutes them both.
MAKES 6–8 SERVINGS
SWEET SOY GLAZE
½ cup/100 g sugar
¼ cup/60 ml tamari or soy sauce
2 tsp jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
1 tsp Asian sesame oil
5 oz./140 g fresh white goat
cheese, preferably Laura Chenel Chévre
1/3 cup/35 g macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp clarified butter
Crisp flatbread, for serving
MANGO SALSA
1 ripe mango, pitted, peeled, and
cut into ½-in./12-mm dice
2 Tbsp red bell pepper, diced (¼-in./6 mm)
2 Tbsp green onion, white and green parts, thinly sliced on
a sharp diagonal
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
1
To make the glaze: Bring the sugar, tamari, and chiles to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar and taking care that the mixture doesn’t boil over. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in the sesame oil. Let cool completely. (The glaze can be cooled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 5 days. If the glaze is too thick, thin with hot water.)
2
To make the salsa: Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl, seasoning to taste with the salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.
3
Divide the goat cheese into 2 equal portions and shape into balls. Roll each ball in the nuts to coat. Flatten each ball into a disk about 2 ½ in./6 cm wide and ¾ in./2 cm thick. Coat each disk in nuts again to cover the newly exposed surfaces.
4
Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the clarified butter and melt. Add the goat cheese and cook until lightly browned on the bottom, about 90 seconds. Carefully flip the goat cheese and cook to brown the other side, about 90 seconds more. Transfer the goat cheese to a platter.
5
Spoon about 1 heaping Tbsp of salsa next to each piece of goat cheese. Reserve the remaining salsa for another use. Drizzle the plate with glaze and serve with the flatbread.