Marinated Goat Cheese With Fried Garlic & Sage
From Modern Mediterranean Cookbook By Melia Marden
Serves 4 to 6
INGREDIENTS
3 cloves garlic
10 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
6 fresh sage leaves
2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
2 teaspoons pink peppercorns
8 ounces soft goat cheese in a log (usually about 1/2 log), very cold
DIRECTIONS
Slice the garlic lengthwise as thinly as possible; it should be almost translucent (use a mandoline if you have one).
Place 2 tablespoons to the oil in a heatproof container and set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat the remaining 1/2 cup oil over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Drop in a test piece of garlic to see if the oil is hot enough, it should sizzle on contact.
Add the garlic and cook for 20 seconds, stirring to make sure all he slices are separated. Add the sage and cook until the garlic is just slightly golden and has stopped sizzling, about 40 more seconds. Remove from the heat.
Add the herbes de Provence and pink peppercorns, then immediately pour the hot oil mixture into the bowl of cold oil to stop the garlic from cooking. Let cool.
Using a piece of string or plain dental floss, cut the goat cheese into four rounds, each 3/4 inch thick. Place the rounds on a serving dish. Arrange some of the fried garlic and sage on top of each piece and drizzle most of the oil over everything. Serve.
