Tag: goat
Bijou with Pickled Strawberries
Summer produce is a thing of magic. And pairing with cheese is even more magical.
Many versions of goat cheese are perfect options to pair with fruit, but Vermont Creamery’s Bijou is a great option. These cute little buttons are creamy, sweet, and a touch earthy. They can be kept whole or cut into quarters to plate and serve.
Quickling (a new verb sweeping the nation) the strawberries does not take away from their natural sweetness but adds some tangy depth that pairs perfectly with cheese.
Bijou with Pickled Strawberries
Ingredients
- ½ pint strawberries
- 1 Tbsp sherry vinegar
- Pinch of sugar
- Pinch of salt
- Fresh cracked pepper
- 1 container Vermont Creamery Bijou
- fresh chopped herbs or micro greens
Instructions
- Trim leaves off strawberries. Cut larger ones in half or quarters, leave smaller strawberries whole. Place in a small bowl.
- Add one tablespoon of sherry vinegar, a pinch of sugar and salt, and a few cracks of black pepper. Add a splash of water and toss to coat strawberries. Let quickle for 5-10 minutes.
- Arrange Bijou on a plate. Top with strawberries and top with herbs or micro greens. Drizzle with strawberry liquid.
Julianna Spring Pizza
More signs that spring is here! Julianna is back in the case and looking beautiful as ever.
The rind of this semi-soft goat cheese from Capriole is rubbed with thyme, lavender, rosemary, and wildflowers. It has a delicate sweet and savory balance and a buttery texture that makes it a great cheese to snack on with olives and charcuterie.
Fully melting a delicate cheese like this will dilute some of its subtleties, so adding the cheese after the pizza is cooked warms it up a bit, without taking away the flavors.
Feel free to use your favorite pizza dough recipe, precooked flatbread, or frozen pizza crust.
One bunch of grocery store scallions will be plenty for this recipe. But if you have larger, farmer’s market green onions, use a few less. You’ll want a little more than 2 cups of sliced scallions before you start cooking them.
If you are feeling spicy, feel free to sprinkle over some red pepper flakes or serve with some chili oil.
Julianna Spring Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 recipe your favorite pizza crust
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 bunch scallions
- 1 tbsp EVOO
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 radishes
- Splash of light vinegar, rice, white wine, white balsamic
- .25 pound wedge of Capriole Julianna
- 1 tbsp tarragon leaves or chives
- Honey, for drizzling
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425°F. Place pizza stone, pan, or baking sheet in the oven to preheat.
- Prepare or roll out pizza crust. Let rest while preparing the scallions.
- Slice the scallions on an extreme bias. Cook over medium-high heat with butter for 6-8 minutes, until the scallions are bright green, soft, with a few crispy spot. Season with salt and pepper.
- Carefully remove the hot stone, pan, or sheet from the oven and place pizza crust on the hot pan. Drizzle with olive oil and spread on a thin layer of mustard. Scatter scallions evenly over the crust.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and crisp.
- While the pizza is in the oven, thinly slice the radishes. Place in a small bowl with a splash of vinegar. Set aside.
- Thinly slice the Julianna. Don't remove the rind!
- Chop the tarragon leaves or chives.
- Remove the pizza from the oven and top with the sliced Julianna and let the residual heat of the pizza slightly melt the cheese.
- Scatter the radishes and herbs over the top and drizzle with honey.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
*If you think your crust will take longer, feel free to add the scallions halfway through cooking. But they should be able to last about 20 minutes in a hot oven. Or if you are using a premade pizza crust and it doesn’t need that much time in the oven, cook the scallions a bit longer on the stove.
Goat Cheese Butter
Rethink the cheese board by mixing together rich and creamy butter with tangy and bright goat cheese. Stirring in a few chopped herbs makes a delicious spread to smear on bread. Serve on a board with veggies, chips and some tinned fish, and you’ve got a beautiful and tasty platter.
At Aperitivo, we have access to some great goat cheese creameries. Use your favorite fresh chèvre for this recipe. It’s a great way to use a half-empty container, or stretch the cheese to feed a crowd.
Adjust the extra mix-in’s to match your season. During the summer, fresh herbs like basil or tarragon. In the winter, use items in your pantry like dried spices and honey.
Goat Cheese Butter
Ingredients
- 3-4 oz. fresh chèvre, at room temperature
- 2-3 tbsp softened butter
- 1 tbsp fresh basil leaves, chopped
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the chèvre, butter and chopped basil until combined.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with crusty bread.
Flora with Crispy Sunchokes, Pepper Jam & Pea Shoots
It isn’t hard to miss the large, elaborate and colorful cheese platters that have taken over any cheese lover’s Instagram feed. While they are jaw-droppingly beautiful, sometimes a one cheese plate can be just as inspiring. In a world of excess, occasionally it’s nice to keep things simple.
Goat cheese may be the springy-est cheese out there. It’s bright, fresh and reminds us there is life after winter. Capriole is one of the favorite goat’s milk creameries in the Aperitivo case. Their newest offering, Flora, is a delicate, bloomy rind chèvre round that is pleasantly grassy and creamy. It is a perfect size for a one cheese plate for a few people to share, or just one hungry person to enjoy.
These fried sunchokes chips are a delightfully crisp and subtlety spring garnish. Paired with pepper jam and pea shoots, the freshness of the Flora shines through. Have a glass of rosè alongside and enjoy life’s simple pleasures.
Flora with Crispy Sunchokes, Pepper Jam and Pea Shoots
- 1-2 medium-sized sunchokes, scrubbed
- ½ cup EVOO
- 1 wheel Capriole Flora
- 1 tablespoon Wildly Delicious Red Pepper Jelly
- A handful of pea shoots
- EVOO to drizzle
- Crunchy Salt
- Baguette or crackers
Using a mandolin, slice the sunchokes into thin rounds, then again into ¼ inch strips. Keep strips in a bowl of cold water to prevent oxidation.
Heat ½ cup of olive oil over medium-low heat in a heavy bottom pot. Drain the sunchoke strips and dry thoroughly on a paper towel. Add sunchoke strips and fry gently for 10-15 minutes, stirring often. The strips are ready when they start to brown on the edges and curl up. Remove from pot with a slotted spoon and keep on a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with salt.
On a serving board, scatter pea shoots and top with the wheel of Flora. Spoon the red pepper jam over the top of the cheese and top with the sunchoke chips. Finish with a light drizzle of olive oil and crunchy salt.
Enjoy with toasted baguette or crackers.
Chèvre Green Chile Breakfast Tostadas
Laura Chenel is considered by many to be one of the founding mothers of American artisan cheese. Laura, along with Allison Hooper of Vermont Creamery, Judy Schad of Capriole and Mary Keehn of Cypress Grove, blazed the trail for farmstead cheese in America.
During the 80’s, when most of America was producing – and eating – artificial cheese made in large factories, these women took what little resources and knowledge they had and began to make small-batch, artisan goat cheese.
These women’s contribution to America’s cheese culture is undeniable, and we are honored to feature many of their cheeses in the Aperitivo case.
Laura Chenel’s marinated goat cheese comes in the most adorable (and recyclable) handled buckets, and pack a ton of flavor. The rich and creamy goat cheese is then blended with green enchilada sauce, making for the most addictive and versatile condiment.
This recipe uses the sauce as a base for breakfast tostadas. But could be used in traditional enchiladas, as a dip with corn chips or as a southwestern inspired salad dressing.
If you are feeling up to the challenge, make your own green chile sauce. But if you are pressed for time (or lazy,) the store-bought jarred variety works just fine.
Chèvre Green Chile Breakfast Tostadas
For the sauce:
- 1 15 oz. jar green chile enchilada sauce
- 1 bucket Laura Chenel Marinated Goat Cheese – Jalapeño Chile
For the tostadas:
- Tostada shells
- Eggs, fried to over medium or sunny-side up
- Pickled jalapeños or Mama Lil’s peppers
- Cilantro, chopped
- Salt and pepper
To make the sauce, add the jar of enchilada sauce and all but one of the marinated goat cheese discs to a blender and purée until smooth. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge up to one week.
To make the tostadas, place the shells flat on a plate. Generously spoon the sauce over the shells. Top each shell with an egg. Crumble the last disc of the goat cheese and scatter around the tostadas. Lightly drizzle oil from the goat cheese bucket around the tostadas and garnish with pickled peppers, chopped cilantro and salt and pepper.
Sofia, Speck and Quince “Sushi”
Sushi made with cheese. Sounds fun, right?
This hilarious and playful cheese snack comes from the DiBruno Bros. cookbook, House of Cheese.
The original “sushi” uses Rogue Smokey Blue, prosciutto and quince paste, which is presumably delicious. The Aperitivo version combines soft and beautiful Capriole Sofia and smokey La Quercia Speck with the quince. Look for a piece of Sofia that is ripe and a bit squishy.
This snack is a tad visually confusing with the quince paste looking very similar to raw tuna, but trust us. It’s yummy.
Sofia, Speck and Quince “Sushi”
- 0.25 pound La Querica Speck (about 2 sheets worth)
- 0.25 pound Capriole Sofia, at room temperature
- 1 package quince paste
Place Sofia in a small bowl and mash/stir together until smooth and spreadable. If you want it be more white in color, remove the outer rind before mixing.
Lay a 12-in piece of plastic wrap flat on the cutting board. Arrange the slices of speck across the plastic, slightly overlapping. (You should be able to gently pull the shingled slices directly from the paper in one piece)
Using a butter knife or offset spatula, spread the cheese on top of the speck slices, leaving a ¼ in border around the sides.
Slice the quince paste in half lengthwise and remove one half from the carton. Slice the piece in half again, then once more, making four strips. Place the quince paste strips about 1 inch from the bottom of the cheese and speck.
Beginning with the bottom edge, form a tight roll (like you would make a sushi roll), using the plastic wrap to assist. Keep the roll wrapped in the plastic wrap, and roll it in the brown butcher paper from the speck. (This keeps the speck from browning when exposed to light) Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
When ready to serve, gently slice the sushi into bite-sized pieces with a serrated knife. Arrange on a platter and serve.
Grilled Zucchini with Halloumi and Mama Lil’s Peppers
Taking advantage of a bountiful summer farmer’s market harvest, these grilled zucchinis make a great vegetarian main course or a beautiful accompaniment with grilled fish.
Coming from Cyprus, Halloumi is a semi-firm sheep and goat’s milk cheese. (Find it near the fresh goat cheese in the Aperitivo case!) It is a salty and tangy cheese with a high melting point, meaning it will hold its shape when exposed to high heat. So it is the perfect cheese to grill!
There are a few staple ingredients in the Aperitivo “kitchen” and Mama Lil’s spicy pickled peppers are one of those. Grown in Washington’s Yakima Valley, these Hungarian goathorn peppers are made in a similar style to Italy’s Calabrian pickled peppers. They are sweet, spicy and totally addicting. Once the jar is empty, don’t toss that flavorful oil! Use it in vinaigrettes, toss it with fresh pasta or pour it in a bowl and dip some crusty bread in it.
Grilled Zucchini with Halloumi and Mama Lil’s Peppers
Serves 4 – Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit
- 1 medium shallot or small red onion – thinly sliced
- ½ cup sherry vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ coarsely chopped Mama Lil’s peppers
- 2 pounds zucchini – halved lengthwise (or hotdog-style)
- 1 package Halloumi
- 3 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup torn basil
- Kosher salt and pepper
- Crunchy salt – Maldon, Jacobson, etc.
Heat a grill for medium heat. Mix sliced shallot or onion with sherry vinegar in a large bowl. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle in the sugar, a pinch of salt and chopped Mama Lil’s. Set aside.
Toss halved zucchinis with 3 Tbsp vegetable oil on a large rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and place on the grill. Grill on each side, until tender and charred, about 15 minutes total. Remove from the grill and let cool slightly. Once cool, tear or slice into bite-sized pieces and place in the bowl with shallots and Mama Lil’s.
Toss Halloumi in same olive oil from the zucchini and place on the grill. Grill a few minutes on each side, until crispy grill marks form, about 8 minutes total. Remove from grill, slice into bite-sized pieces and add to zucchini mixture.
Gently stir everything together, add additional ¼ cup olive oil and torn basil leaves. Transfer mixture with a slotted spoon onto large platter. Top with additional basil leaves and crunchy salt.
Need a wine pairing? Try this amazing Malagouzia from Greece.
Creamy Panzanella Salad
Fresh and bright, crunchy and packing a salty bite, Panzanella Salad is the perfect summer dish. Panzanella is a traditional Tuscan salad made up of tomatoes and stale bread. The Aperitivo version includes a creamy goat cheese for an added level of richness. Have a few tomatoes that aren’t going to win any beauty contests? Use them up here! Those tend to be the most flavorful!
CHEVOO is a brand of marinated goat cheese made by Aussies transplants in California. Any of their magical flavor combinations would work in this salad, but the Smoked Salt and Rosemary is our favorite!
This salad gets multiple of layers of saltiness from the anchovies, the marinated goat cheese, and the extra virgin olive oil from the CHEVOO jar. So be sure to taste before adding additional salt.
Creamy Panzanella Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound assorted heirloom tomatoes – different colors will make the salad pop
- 1 medium-sized cucumber
- 1 medium pepper – any color
- 1 loaf bread – Our favorite is the Levain from field&fire
- Assorted fresh herbs – thyme, basil, chives
- 1 jar CHEVOO Smoked Salt and Rosemary marinated goat cheese – cheese and oil separated
- 2 fillets Ortiz Anchovies
- 1 tbsp Beaufor Whole Grain Mustard
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Salt and pepper – to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the bread – Cut the loaf into bite-sized cubes, discarding some of the harder pieces of the outer crust. Toss with 2 tablespoons of the oil from the CHEVOO jar and toast in a 350℉ oven for about 10 minutes, until dry and golden. Place in a large mixing bowl.
- Prepare the vegetables – Peel the cucumber, slice in half and remove the seeds with a spoon. Chop into bite-sized pieces. Cut the tomatoes into chunks, discarding seeds if desired. Seed and chop the pepper into bite-sized pieces. Mix into the bowl with the bread and add the chopped fresh herbs, saving a few to garnish at the end.
- Mix the vinaigrette – Break up the anchovy fillets with your fingers and add to a small bowl. Whisk in the mustard, vinegar and 3 tablespoons of the oil from the CHEVOO jar until smooth. Add a few cracks of black pepper to taste. (You can also puree this in a blender to better break up the anchovies.)
- Pour the vinaigrette over the tomato and bread mixture, making sure to get the bread fully saturated. Break up the pieces of cheese with your fingers and drop onto the bowl and gently fold in. The cheese will melt into the salad, adding a creamy and salty bite. Season lightly with salt and pepper to taste.
- Let sit for a few minutes to let all the flavors meld together, then serve.