Wilted Bitter Greens with Crispy Walnut Goat Cheese

Breaded goat cheese?  Please.  You know I made this within 24 hours of recipe access.

You know I ate two disks of goat cheese with enough bitter greens necessary to eat two disks of goat cheese.  I don't recommend that.  It is hard to digest two disks of goat cheese. 

But one serving of this is like...super wicked good.  What I love the most about this recipe is that I have more goat cheese patties frozen in my freezer.  And I can just whip those babies up anytime I want.  At any given time, you can guarantee that my freezer will be pretty empty.  We usually have frozen fruit and sometimes a pint of ice cream.  I am not that good about freezing stuff (but even worse about eating the stuff I have frozen).  I can't wait to eat the rest of these!

PS:  I just followed the recipe as is after completely freezing them for several days before using them.  They turned out great!

Wilted Bitter Greens with Crispy Walnut Goat Cheese

by Anne Burrell via Food Network

For Goat Cheese:

3/4 cup walnuts

4 slices Pullman loaf bread, or other tight crumb white bread, crusts removed

1/2 bunch fresh chives, finely chopped

1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 (11-ounce) log goat cheese, cut into 6 equal pieces

Kosher salt

2 eggs, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

For Salad:

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 shallot, minced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 to 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1 head radicchio, cut into bite-size pieces

2 cups baby arugula, washed

2 heads Belgian endive, cut into 1/2-inch lengths crosswise

Directions

For the goat cheese: In a food processor, pulse the walnuts until they are coarsely chopped. Tear the bread into pieces and pulse in the food processor with the chopped walnuts until they become coarse breadcrumbs. Transfer the breadcrumb mixture to a wide, flat dish. Stir in the chopped chives and parsley. Flatten each piece of goat cheese into a disk and season with salt. Dip each disk in the beaten egg mixture and then coat with the breadcrumbs, packing the crumbs onto each disk. When all the goat cheese has been coated, chill them in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

To help facilitate the frying process, pop the disks in the freezer for 15 minutes before frying.

Coat a large, nonstick saute pan generously with olive oil and bring to a mediumhigh heat. Carefully fry the goat cheese disks in the hot oil on both sides until they are golden brown and crispy, about 2 minutes per side.

When all of the disks have been fried, keep them warm in the oven.

Remove the oil and any burned bits from the pan and give a splash of new oil. Reduce the heat to low, add the shallots to the pan, and let them cook as the pan cools slightly. Add the Dijon and sherry vinegar to the pan and whisk to combine. Add the radicchio, arugula, and endive and season with salt. Toss to fully incorporate with the vinaigrette and to allow the salad to slightly wilt. Taste to make sure it is delicious.

Divide the wilted salad between serving plates and top each salad with a goat cheese disk.

(Servings: 6, Prep time: 25 min., Inactive Prep time: 1 hr 15 min., Cook time: 25 min., Difficulty: Easy)

Printable Version

foodforscot Ratings:

Shanon (taste):  9/10

Scot (taste):  7/10

Effort:  3/5

Dishwashing Effort:  3/5