Salade de chèvre chaud
A salad from every French bistro, built on a contrast: hot, soft cheese on crisp toast set over cold leaves. That contrast lasts only a few minutes, so the toasts go under the grill only once the salad is already plated. The cheese must come from a log with a mature rind: fresh goat curd melts away under a grill, while a slice of bûche holds its shape and only softens inside.
Your own work in that: 8 min.
- Vinaigrette 8 min
- Cheese toasts 12 min
- Assembly 8 min
Step by step
0 / 6 doneMake a mustard vinaigrette
Whisk the mustard with the vinegar, honey, salt and pepper, then pour in the oil in a thin stream while whisking. The mustard is the emulsifier — it keeps the dressing joined so it does not separate on the plate.
Ingredients: 1 tbsp Dijon mustard · 2 tbsp red wine vinegar · 6 tbsp olive oil · 1 tsp honey · ½ tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Oil in a thin stream — the mustard holds the emulsion.Toast the walnuts
Switch on the oven grill (top element, full power, about 250°C) so it has time to heat up. Toast the walnuts in a dry pan for 4 minutes, until fragrant, and chop them coarsely. Toasting softens the bitterness of the skins and brings out the aroma — the difference from straight-from-the-bag walnuts is obvious here.
Ingredients: 200 g mixed leaves · 80 g walnuts · 1 pcs apple · 1 pcs shallot
Plate the leaves
Toss the leaves with the sliced apple and finely sliced shallot, dress with two-thirds of the vinaigrette and divide between four plates. The salad must be waiting ready — the toasts go onto the plates straight from the grill.
Ingredients: 200 g mixed leaves · 80 g walnuts · 1 pcs apple · 1 pcs shallot
Prepare the cheese toasts
Brush the bread slices with oil and toast them under the grill for about 1 minute a side, until lightly golden. Set a round of goat cheese on each, drizzle with honey and scatter with thyme. The round should be thicker than the slice — under the grill the cheese settles and spreads to the edges.
Ingredients: 250 g goat cheese · 8 pcs baguette · 2 tbsp honey · 1 tsp thyme · 2 tbsp olive oil
A round thicker than the slice — the cheese settles under heat.Grill them, watching closely
Put the tray on the top shelf, under the hot grill, for 3–4 minutes, until the cheese bubbles and browns at the edges. Do not walk away — golden turns to scorched in moments here, and scorched goat cheese turns bitter.
Ingredients: 250 g goat cheese · 8 pcs baguette · 2 tbsp honey · 1 tsp thyme · 2 tbsp olive oil
Bubbling and browned at the edges — 3–4 minutes.Serve immediately
Set two hot toasts on each salad, scatter with walnuts and drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette. Serve at once — the point of this salad is hot cheese on cold leaves, and within a few minutes that difference is gone.
Ingredients: 200 g mixed leaves · 80 g walnuts · 1 pcs apple · 1 pcs shallot
Before you start
Which goat cheese
A bûche de chèvre is best — a cylindrical log with a white rind, cut into rounds. The rind holds the cheese in shape under the grill. Fresh rindless goat curd melts and soaks straight into the toast.
The breaded version
A grander version coats the cheese rounds in egg and breadcrumbs and fries them two minutes a side. Instead of toasts you get crisp cheese cakes, with the bread served alongside.
Vinaigrette in advance
Make a double batch — it keeps two weeks in a sealed jar in the fridge. Shake before using: the dressing separates when chilled, but the mustard lets it come back together.
