Fried Goat Cheese on Roasted Golden Beet and Savory Cracker

We do love our appetizers around here, often making a meal out of a choice of finger foods, dips and spreads with fresh bread. In addition to the usual array of cheeses, I like to have a more elaborate or interesting choice or two to allow me to test out new ideas. Plus, it's always a good way to get the kids to try out new things.

I especially love the combination of beets and goat cheese. The goat cheese & roasted beet amuse bouche is the most-viewed blog entry here, and for good reason: the roasted beets offer a wonderful sweetness, which is the perfect foil for the smooth and tangy goat cheese. Breading and pan-frying the goat cheese rounds seems to bring out the creaminess of the cheese as well as adding a wonderful new texture. I put it on a savory cracker to make it a little easier to eat as a finger food.

The end results provides a rich combination of smooth and crunchy, creamy and tangy, sweet and savory. Not bad for an appetizer.

Fried Goat Cheese on Roasted Golden Beet and Savory Cracker

Ingredients:

• 1 golden beet
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• log of herbed goat cheese
• flour
• egg
• panko bread crumbs
• fresh thyme, chopped
• soft bread crumbs
• peanut oil
• savory cracker, wasa bread or some other thin and crisp flatbread or cracker

Directions:

1. Roast the beet: Preheat the oven to 400 F. Pour a thin layer of olive oil in a bowl. 
2. Wash and scrub the beet carefully, then roll it in the oil until it is all coated. Sprinkle some freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt over it and then place it on a sheet of aluminum foil and seal it up into a packet. 
3. Place into a roasting pan and roast for 45 minutes. 
4. Take out and let cool. Slip off the skin and then slice into 1/2 inch slices.

1. Make the pan-fried goat cheese rounds: Grab four shallow bowls, pie tins or plates. Pour out about 3/4 cup of flour on one, the beaten egg on the middle plate, the panko bread crumbs mixed with fresh thyme leaves on the third, and unseasoned soft bread crumb on the fourth.  
2. Slice the goat cheese into 3/4 inch rounds and then squish them down slightly until the diameter of the round almost matches the diameter of the beet slices. 
3. Working one at a time, dredge the goat cheese rounds through the flour until it is all coated, then dip into the beaten egg, making sure to let the excess egg drip back into the plate. Then press into the panko and thyme on both sides, then dipping it into the soft breadcrumbs to cover what the panko missed.
4. Heat some peanut oil over medium-high heat in a skillet. Once the oil starts to shimmer, carefully lower the goat cheese rounds into the oil and fry until both sides are golden brown, once per side is best. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
5. Place a slice of the roasted beet on a cracker and top with a goat cheese round and serve.

A closer look at the melty cheese....

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Parmesan-Coated Baked Tilapia

I've mentioned my pizza-love on occasion. I've also mentioned that I'm doing the South Beach diet. The first phase of the diet involves pretty stringent restriction of carbohydrates, not just refined carbs like white sugar and flour, but also fruits, starchy grains like rice and bulgur and vegetables with a high-glycemic index such as carrots, beets and other root vegetables. Basically my favorite foods.

As you can imagine, restricting carbs is pretty difficult at first, but once I get on a roll, I can really get into it. After the three-day hump, I don't crave the carbs as much, and by three-day hump, I mean three solid days of absolutely no carbs whatsoever, not even a trace of sugar. During those three days, I am ravenous, my body seeking quick energy from the carb foods I crave. I even dream about my favorites: bead, potatoes and pizza, oh my God, the pizza.

My last pizza before embarking on South Beach was an especially carb-o-rrific one topped with slices of roasted beets and roasted potato and topped with herbed goat cheese and fresh thyme. It packed a serious carb punch.

Ah, some day, I will make this again.

*wistful sigh*

In the meantime, there are plenty of delicious vegetables and protein sources waiting. Fish is on the Phase 1 South Beach menu. I make a chopped salad using canned tuna and brocoli slaw mix for a filling and satisfying lunch quite often. For dinner, I also like to make a pan-fried fillet of white fish or roasted salmon. One of the easiest ways to cook fish is baked in the oven, because it's fairly hands-off and yields great results every time.

My usual fish recipe uses parmesan , Old Bay and bread crumbs as a coating and a touch of mayo so the breading will stick. To make this South Beach friendly, I just omit the bread crumbs. I use Old Bay, paprika an Creole seasoning pretty interchangeably. The Creole seasoning is really nice with the juice from the lemon slices in this variation - it's bright and the only way I can describe it is to say that it makes my mouth sing.

Parmesan-Crusted Baked Tilapia

Ingredients:

• tilapia fillets - or other white-fleshed fish
• finely grated parmesan
• Creole seasoning
• salt
• pepper
• lemon slices
• chopped parsley
• olive oil cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a roasting pan or a cookie sheet with foil. Spray with olive oil cooking spray.
2. Mix together the Creole seasoning and the parmesan in a pie plate.
3. Dredge both sides of the fillets in the cheese and place on the pan. Season with a bit of salt and pepper and hit with another spray of olive oil
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the thickest part of the fillets are opaque and flake easily with a fork.
5. Top with thinly sliced lemon and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

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Goat Cheese & Roasted Beet Amuse Bouche

I will give a breakdown of the Christmas Eve Sauerbraten dinner soon, but before I get to it I'd like to make special mention of a last-minute addition to the menu: an amuse bouche of herbed goat cheese sandwiched between stacked slices of roasted beets. I topped them with a dollop of crème fraiche and a tiny sprig of thyme and drizzled a balsamic reduction on the plate.


Good God, it was good.


And look!

The beet juices seep down into the goat cheese, turning it a vivid hot pink! I absolutely loved that aspect of it.








I love the idea of an amuse bouche: a little tidbit of something to tantalize the diner's palate. It should be something that leaves the eater wanting more.

A teaser.


Besides, it's just fun saying "amuse bouche."

Say it and giggle with me.

Goat Cheese & Roasted Beet Amuse Bouche

Ingredients:

• 3 beets
• canola oil
• salt
  
• pepper
  
• 1 4-0z log of goat cheese (chèvre)
  
• Crème fraiche (If this is not available you can substitute sour cream)
• sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1/2 cup of Balsamic vinegar
• 1 T butter
  

Directions:

1. Roast the beets: Preheat the oven about 350. Wash the beets very well, with a pastry brush, coat them with olive oil and give them a sprinkling of fresh cracked pepper and a grinding of sea salt.
   
2. Place the beets on a large sheet of aluminum foil and close it up into a packet. Place the packet in a roasting pan and roast for about an hour until you can slide a knife point in the beet easily.
3. Once the beets cool, slide off the peels and cut into thin 1/4-inch slices.
   
4. Assemble the stacks: Spread goat cheese on one beet slice, then stack another slice on top of that, spread some goat cheese on that one and top with one more beet slice.
5. Wrap tightly with some plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to assemble - a few hours to overnight the longer you wait, the better it will be.
6. Make the balsamic reduction: Bring 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar to a boil over medium heat, and then reduce the heat to low and let the vinegar reduce down by about half to a thick syrup. Stir occasionally. Take it off the heat and add a tablespoon of butter and whisk until melted and incorporated.
   
7. When you're ready to plate them, unwrap the stacks and cut into a neat square, then cut in half.
   
   So, 1 beet and goat cheese stack using 3 layers of beet and 2 layers of goat cheese will yield 2 portions for an amuse bouche.
8. Place a dollop of crème fraiche on the top of the stack and garnish with a tiny sprig of thyme. Drizzle a bit of the balsamic reduction around the plate and serve.
   

Notes:

1. When I was making these I taste-tested a few of the edges as I cut them off. No joke, I think my eyes rolled back into my head and I groaned when I tasted them. So yeah, this is a keeper.
2. If I were to do anything differently, I might add a little bit of sea salt to the top of the stack before adding the garnishes.
   

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