Flavorista

How to Dress Up a Cheese Plate, III

October 24th, 2008

I love to include marinated goat cheese on my cheese plates. Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy here in Boulder makes an exceptional one but it is a little pricey (with good reason as the ingredients are very high quality). The good news is that marinated goat cheese is remarkably easy to make. It only takes a few days for the cheese to take on the marinade flavors and any leftover cheese can be used in salads. The leftover oil can be used in salad dressings.  For a fancy salad, pair roasted beets, baby greens and marinated goat cheese.  The flavors are made for each other!

Marinated Goat Cheese

Be sure to choose a deep glass container or jar so that all the cheese is submerged into the marinade.

1/4 cup grapeseed oil
2/3 cup walnut oil
1 cup toasted walnuts
1 (6 ounce) bag of sundried tomatoes (optional)
1 sprig fresh thyme leaves
salt and pepper, to taste
1 (16 ounce) log of good quality goat cheese

Pour all the ingredients, except the cheese into a large, deep glass container. Slice the goat cheese into rounds, about 1/4 inch thick, if the cheese is very dry, it will be crumbly so go slowly. Gently nestle the cheese into the marinade. Cover and allow to marinate for at least 2 days.  To serve, remove a few pieces from the marinade and place into a small bowl along side the rest of your cheese plate.  Yum.

The left over oil can be used for salad dressings. The cheese is also stellar crumbled into salads and is particularly great with cooked beets.

Entry Filed under: Amuse Bouche Made Easy, Feeding a Crowd, Gluten-Free, Savory Recipes