Goat Cheese Marinated In Rosemary Fennel And Hot Red Pepper Recipes

GOAT CHEESE MARINATED IN ROSEMARY, FENNEL, AND HOT RED PEPPER

Steps:

• In a 1-pint jar with a tight-fitting lid combine the cheese with the fennel seeds, the red pepper flakes, the rosemary, and the lemon zest, pour enough of the oil over the mixture to cover the cheese completely, and let the cheese marinate, covered, and chilled, for at least 1 week and up to 4 weeks. Let the mixture come to room temperature before serving.

PASTA WITH ROASTED RED PEPPERS AND GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet. Add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the sliced roasted peppers, and stir together for about a minute until well infused with the oil and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in the basil (if using) and goat cheese. Remove from the heat.
• When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the pasta. Cook until al dente - firm to the bite - following the recommendations on the package. Ladle about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water into the frying pan, and stir well so that the goat cheese begins to melt. Drain the pasta, and toss immediately with the pepper mixture in the pan. Serve.

FENNEL WITH SHALLOTS, ROSEMARY AND GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch broilerproof baking dish. Sprinkle shallots, rosemary and garlic over bottom of prepared dish. Cook fennel in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 12 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer fennel, cut side up, to prepared dish. Pour wine over fennel. Dot with butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Bake fennel uncovered until tender, basting occasionally with wine and turning fennel over halfway through baking, about 30 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Rewarm, uncovered, in 350°F oven for about 15 minutes before continuing.)
• Preheat broiler. Turn fennel cut side up. Sprinkle goat cheese over fennel. Broil until cheese melts and begins to brown, watching closely to avoid burning, about 6 minutes.
• Transfer fennel to platter. Season wine mixture in baking dish to taste with salt and pepper; spoon over fennel. Garnish platter with reserved fennel fronds and serve immediately.

MARINATED GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Place the peppercorns, garlic cloves and bay leaves in a clean, sterilized wide-mouthed jar. Pour in a film of olive oil.
• Cut the goat cheese into rounds 1/2 inch thick (I get neat rounds using unflavored dental floss to cut through the cheese). Place one round in the jar and drizzle on some olive oil. Stack the remaining rounds, drizzling oil onto each round before topping with the next. Add the thyme and rosemary sprigs to the jar and pour in olive oil to cover the goat cheese rounds completely. Cover the jar and leave at room temperature for several hours, then refrigerate.