Goat Cheese with Garlicky Herbed Olive Oil
Blooms on apple trees are like ripening avocados – notreadyyetnotreadyyetnotreadyyet – BLOOM! One day they explode from their buds, and then the next day the wind picks up or the rain washes all those little white petals away. All over the deck you just finished staining – with sticky, oily $50-a-pail stuff that says right on the label “do not paint if weather is threatening”.
But we did anyway, and then we invited some friends over for Prosecco and bourbon lemonade and summery nibbles on said patio, namely this goat cheese with warm garlicky-pepper-herb olive oil that takes approximately one minute to make. And isn’t it pretty? My friend Gwendolyn makes this with her family every Christmas Eve – to her it tastes like Christmas, but to me it tastes like awesome – and perfect for summer when pots of fresh rosemary and thyme are sitting on my windowsill. I like to put a few sprigs in a little jar with some peppercorns and a couple of garlic cloves and let it wait.. then when you’re opening the wine, pop it in the microwave to warm for 30 seconds and pour it over a log of goat cheese. That’s it. And though it’s simple, it tastes so much better than the sum of its parts.
Those dates? Whole Medjools sauteed in olive oil with sea salt – an idea that came in the first chapter of Molly‘s new book, Delancey. I added a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary and they’re divine – warm and soft and somewhat crunchy on the outside from the oil and the heat of the pan. Sweet and savoury and perfect with cheese.
Once made, this becomes one of those back pocket recipes you make all the time – at least I have – the sort that you don’t need to refer back to the original to make. The very best kind.
Goat Cheese with Garlicky Herbed Olive Oil
AuthorJulieAdapted from Gourmet, via Gwendolyn Richards
In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil with the garlic, rosemary, thyme, pepper and coriander; place the goat cheese in a shallow dish and pour the warm oil overtop. (Alternatively, combine the oil and herbs in a jar; keep in the fridge until you're ready for it, then remove the lid, microwave the jar for 30 seconds, until the oil is hot, then pour over the goat cheese.)
Serve immediately with crusty bread or crackers. Serves 8.
Ingredients
Directions
In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil with the garlic, rosemary, thyme, pepper and coriander; place the goat cheese in a shallow dish and pour the warm oil overtop. (Alternatively, combine the oil and herbs in a jar; keep in the fridge until you're ready for it, then remove the lid, microwave the jar for 30 seconds, until the oil is hot, then pour over the goat cheese.)
Serve immediately with crusty bread or crackers. Serves 8.
ooooh – yum yum
I love goat cheese, and I love dates. I have to try these.
thank you, Julie 🙂
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR. That looks insanely amazing. I’m going to do this! I have a cashew “chevre” in the fridge and it’s all I can do to not go make this right this second and eat the whole thing.
Wish I liked goat cheese, but no matter how many times I tried it all I taste is YUCK.
The dates on the other hand, yum,yum. I will definitely try that out.
Looks like my kind of appetizer! I’m horrible at planning ahead, so this is PERFECT!
Wow, fantastic blog layout! How long have you
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The overall look of your site is excellent, as well as the
content!
This looks DIVINE. I JUST received a lovely little bamboo, rectangular dish with knife this past weekend and the goat cheese would fit perfectly in it!
This is a great back pocket recipe and I’ll definitely try this! I love garlic, herbs and goat cheese together. It reminds me of mine (well not really mine, but one I use a lot, my go-go easy appy): http://shinytomato.wordpress.com/2013/05/26/lemon-rosemary-goat-cheese-spread/
Cheers!
This is so unbelievably easy and was a complete hit at the Christmas potluck at work. I keep fresh herbs under a grow light on my kitchen counter but had no thyme (and neither did the grocery store), so I used fresh oregano instead. I also started with rosemary infused olive oil from Oliv, but it’s not necessary given how pungent fresh rosemary is. Definitely doing this again.