Marinated Goat Cheese

This cheese is great on crackers as an appetizer. It would be delicious as a topping for a green salad. You could also make a classic French salad with this called a Salade de Chevre Chaud (warm goat cheese salad). Place a slice of the marinated goat cheese on top of a thickly sliced piece of French bread. Place in a hot oven and warm through until the cheese just begins to melt. Remove from the oven and place atop a green salad dressed with a Sherry shallot vinaigrette.

Serves 8 as an appetizer

1 (12 oz) log soft goat cheese, chilled

1 cup EVOO Tuscan Herb Olive Oil

1 tbsp mixed whole peppercorns, red, black and white

1 tsp whole allspice berries

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup slivered fresh basil

1 tsp grated orange zest

Cut the goat cheese into ½-inch thick slices. Use a small paring knife to slice the cheese and keep dipping into hot water between each cut to get nice clean slices of cheese. Arrange the goat cheese slices in a single layer in a Pyrex pie plate or baking dish.

In a small saucepan, combine the Tuscan Herb olive oil, peppercorns, and allspice. In a small bowl, combine the basil, garlic and orange zest. Heat the oil in the saucepan over medium high heat until the peppercorns begin to pop, about 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the oil and pepper mixture over the garlic mixture. Stir to combine. While still warm, pour the oil and herb mixture over the goat cheese, coating each piece. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 3 hours, covered with plastic wrap.

This recipe can be made ahead and will keep for at least one week in the refrigerator. Remove from the refrigerator an hour before serving.