Salade au Chèvre Chaud (Hot Goat Cheese Salad)

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This tantalizing  autumnal salad (though I love to eat it all year round!) is the perfect entrée when having friends over, or simply as a main for lunch. The Salade au Chèvre Chaud is one of the classic French salads that can be found in almost every French restaurant across the country.


I feel truly blessed to have lived in the Loire Valley (infamous for its goat cheeses), and to have studied hotel management in Lyon, France.  This beautiful country, (along with my home country Switzerland 🇨🇭 😊 ) has by far, some of the best cheeses in the world!  They have more cheeses than each day of the year! France is also the largest producer of goat cheese worldwide, most of which comes from the Loire Valley region.  Quite simply put, for cheese lovers, France 🇫🇷 is a paradise! The selection is endless! 


When studying in Lyon, each year, we would do practical work for a few weeks in our school’s fine dining restaurant. This meant serving outside clients, coming to enjoy a 5-course meal, prepared by our Head Chef and the culinary students. Being from the hotel Manegment division, I would have to serve the clients,  which generally was smooth sailing.  


The course I most dreaded serving however, was when I had to roll out the “chariot de fromages” - a.k.a. The cheese cart!! Each night we had Literally around 25+ cheeses to remember, as we were obliged to present them to the customers, detailing the type (raw, cooked, semi-cooked etc), the origin (from which region or city), and which animal’s milk  was used (cow, goat or sheep).   Plus, a regular rotation of cheeses kept us continuously on our toes! If anyone is looking to improve their memory, try memorizing the different names, origins, types etc, of all the French cheeses! You’re sure to give your brain a brilliant workout! 


So back to goat cheese... Growing up, I wasn’t actually a fan of it... being slightly more acidic, stronger and more “wild “ in flavor compared to cow’s cheese, it was never a cheese I would have chosen from a cheese cart. 


However, after moving to France in my late teens, it was then that my growing appreciation for goat cheese developed.  Near our former countryside house, there is a quaint fine dining restaurant called “La Mère Hamard”, https://www.lamerehamard.com/fr/in a small village called Semblançay, around 20 kms from the city of Tours (in the Loire Valley region). My mother and I would dine there nearly once a month, and it was there that I ate my first Salade au Chèvre Chaud, where slices of this heavenly cheese were breaded and deep fried. My whole opinion on goat cheese changed from that moment on.  I still highly recommend that restaurant and make it a point to eat there every time I return to France. 


Goat cheese is actually one of the oldest dairy products that exists and is said to have first been produced thousands of years ago. Found worldwide, it has smaller fat molecules (easier to digest) compared to to those of cow’s milk, and contains less lactose, making it ideal for lactose-sensitive people. Goat cheese also contains capric acid, which is a medium-chain fatty acid that supposedly combats inflammation, as well as having antibacterial properties. 


Vive La France! And Vive le Chèvre! 


SERVES: 4


INGREDIENTS:



200 g mixed green salad (ideally mesclun or arugula - match wonderfully, with a slight nutty flavor!)

80 g French beans

300 g cherry tomatoes (yellow and red - adds color)

30 g walnuts 

70 g pancetta (sliced thinly)

1 Japanese cucumber

125 g goat cheese log


CHEESE COATING:

1 egg

1/2 cup flour 

1/2 cup breadcrumbs 


VINAIGRETTE:

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp olive oil 

1 tsp Dijon grain mustard 

Salt and pepper to taste 


METHOD: 

  1. Wash and strain salad. Set aside.
  2. Cut cherry tomatoes in half and set aside.
  3. Prepare a medium bowl of ice water. Boil French beans for 2.5 minutes, strain and place in the ice water for 5 minutes to stop the cooking. Strain, Pat dry, cut in half and set aside.
  4. Cut pancetta into small strips and sauté in a frying pan until slightly crispy. Strain, place on a paper towel and set aside. 
  5. Toast the walnuts on a frying pan for one minute, shaking the pan back and forth, tossing  nuts on all sides. Set aside. 
  6. Slice cucumber into thin rounds and set aside. 
  7. Using tooth floss (can also use a sharp thin knife, but tooth floss allows for a cleaner cut), slice the goat cheese log into 1 cm slices. 
  8. VINAIGRETTE: in a small bowl, using a whisk, mix vinegar with mustard. Gradually add olive oil in a thin stream while whisking. Add salt and pepper to taste. 
  9. Arrange the salad: place salade leaves on the bottom of the plate. Top with tomatoes, green beans, cucumber, crispy pancetta and lightly crushed toasted walnuts. Set aside.
  10. GOAT CHEESE COATING: put egg, flour and breadcrumbs in three different small bowls respectively. Dip each slice of cheese first in the flour, then in the beaten egg, and finally in the breadcrumbs. Place on a plate covered with a paper towel. 
  11. Heat a pan filled with a neutral flavored oil on low to medium heat, up to a height of 1 cm. Depending on the size of your pan, fry the goat cheese slices in small batches, allowing each side to turn golden brown (around 30 seconds on each side or less).
  12. Place on a paper towel, and allow to cool slightly. 
  13. Place fried goat cheese slices on top of the salad, and drizzle vinaigrette over the salad. Serve immediately. 

BON APPÉTIT! En Guete! Guten Appetit! Buon Appetito! Itadakimasu! 


Gastronomically yours, 

💖Pia 

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