Warm goat cheese salad with frisée lettuce, bacon lardons, and rounds of lightly breaded goat cheese, browned so they are warm and melty on the inside and crispy on the outside.
Ingredients
- 1 shallot, finely minced
- 1 T white balsamic vinegar
- 1 t whole grain mustard
- 4 T walnut oil
- 2 slices thick-cut bacon
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup bread crumbs, regular or panko
- 5.5 ounce goat cheese log
- 4 ounces frisee lettuce, cleaned, dried and broken into bite-sized pieces
- 3 ounces butter lettuce, cleaned, dried and broken into bite-sized pieces
- 12 teardrop tomatoes
Directions
- 1To make vinaigrette: Put shallots, vinegar and mustard in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in walnut oil to create an emulsion. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- 2Slice bacon cross-wise into ⅓" strips, so each piece is approximately 1½" x ⅓." Fry the bacon pieces in a pan until they are crispy. Remove to drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Set bacon aside. Pour off most, but not all of the bacon grease, retaining just enough to cook the goat cheese in.
- 3Cut the goat cheese log cross-wise into 4 disks. One at a time, place the disks on a sheet of plastic wrap. Fold the plastic wrap over each disk and flatten the disk into a half inch thick circle.
- 4Whisk the egg in a small bowl. Place the bread crumbs in another small bowl. Dip each goat cheese circle first into the egg, and then into the bread crumbs.
- 5Heat the remaining bacon grease and sauté each goat cheese circle until golden brown on the outside and melting on the inside. Turn once. Avoid turning too many times or you will have scrambled cheese.
- 6Toss your lettuce in the dressing and plate the salad in individual serving plates. Top each plate with 2 browned cheese circles, 6 tomatoes and half of the crisped bacon.
