Chèvre, l’autre facon – Chèvre pané et sauce aux poivrons grillés, miel et balsamique

Have you ever felt like a goat cheese appetizer but not on a salad or on toasts? This warm goat cheese appetizer has been one of my favorites, and makes such an elegant small dish with simple and down to earth flavors.

It’s one of those appetizers, that you make regularly because it’s so good and so quick to prepare, you can prepare the red pepper salsa in advance which can be appreciable when you have guests and many courses, then you don’t have to stay in the kitchen while your guest are having a good time in the living room. Since I love to have everything ready when guest arrive and not drink my glass of wine by myself with my vegetables, I had to find recipes that would allow me to do that.

For a long time, goat cheese was not one of my favorites, I thought it was too strong and smelled like a real goat (the same smell you can encounter at the gym, when people don’t use deodorant and have been working out in dirty clothes). I got to appreciate it more while living in Paris, sometimes during the weekend, all you want to do is get out of the crowded city and explore the countryside, see some greenery and breathe fresh air.

During our weekend getaways, we discovered a few goat farms where they raised goats to produce cheeses. Yes, when you enter the farm the goat smell is hard on your nostrils, much worse than cows or horses, and when you leave, you smell like a goat too, but c’est la nature!!..little by little, I somehow got to appreciate the diversity of goat cheeses and their flavors, and now it’s an ingredient I adore.

Ingredients for 4

  • 8 slices of goat cheese (1.5 cm thick)
  • 2 red bell peppers
  • 2 shallots, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1.5 tsp honey
  • 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbs parsley, chopped
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 2 tbs sunflower oil (or vegetable oil)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup plain bread crumbs
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

Cut the cheese in 1/2 inch thick slices. Whisk egg and dip cheese slices in it, then coat with bread crumbs. Set aside.

Broil red pepper under broiler on all sides until the skin grills and turns dark. Remove from the oven, let it cool and remove the skin and the seeds. Cut in small strips, then in small dices. Set aside.

In a pan, heat olive oil and add shallots, brown the shallots, then add garlic. Cook for another few minutes to get the flavors out. Add honey, cook for a few minutes, then add balsamic vinegar, let it reduce. Add red peppers, stir well and coat peppers with mixture. Add parsley. Remove from heat.

In a pan, heat sunflower oil, brown the breaded goat cheese slices on both sides. When golden brown, remove from heat.

Place 2 slices of goat cheese in a plate and divide the red pepper salsa around them.