Yield:
4
Prep Time:
TBD
Cook Time:
TBD
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In 1981, Alice Waters, the innovating chef/owner of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, partnered with Laura Chenel to feature this recipe on the menu, sparking a relationship that would last decades. "One of the first cheeses that we got at Chez Panisse was Laura Chenel’s chèvre," Waters told Culture magazine in 2016. "It was about finding a locally sourced farm-to-table product and, since I was a Francophile, a French-style cheese! The baked goat cheese salad with garden lettuces is still on the café menu and has never lost its appeal." CUT? Thanks to Waters, it became a modern classic and Laura Chenel goat cheese a favorite among chefs nationwide. This recipe and others like it can be found in "Chèvre! The Goat Cheese Cookbook" by Laura Chenel and Linda Siegfried.

Inspired by the recipe for Alice Waters's Original Baked Goat Cheese with Salad, Chez Panisse

Featured Cheese
Original Log
Chez-Panisse-Baked-Goat-Cheese-with-Garden-Salad_021219

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces Laura Chenel Original Log, cut into 4 1-1/2-inch thick rounds
  • 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 3/4 cup virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 cup fine, dry bread crumbs
  • 1 teaspoon dry thyme
  • 2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 4 handfuls garden lettuces (arugula, lamb's lettuce, small oak leaf and red lettuces, chevril)
  • Day-old baguette
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2-3 cloves garlic

Instructions

  1. Marinate the cheese and fresh thyme sprigs in 1/4 cup virgin olive oil for a day.
  2. When ready to prepare the dish, mix together the bread crumbs and dried thyme in a bowl.
  3. Prepare the vinaigrette by whisking together 1/2 cup virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar, adding salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Wash and dry the lettuce.
  5. Slice the baguette into 24 slices, each about 1/4 inch thick.
  6. Melt about 1/2 cup butter.
  7. Brush each slice of baguette with some melted butter. Bake in a preheated 350ºF oven for 5-7 minutes, until the croutons are light golden brown.
  8. Peel and cut in half the garlic. While still warm, rub each crouton with a cut clove of garlic.
  9. Dip marinated cheese slices in the bread crumbs and place on a lightly oiled baking dish. Bake in a preheated 400ºF oven for about 6 minutes, until cheese is lightly bubbling and golden brown.
  10. Toss the lettuces with enough vinaigrette to lightly coat and arrange them on 4 round salad plates. Place the cheese in the center of the plates with the more browned side up, and arrange the croutons around the cheese.
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