Thyme Scented Goat Cheese With Prosciutto And Shallots Recipes

GOAT CHEESE SOUFFLé WITH THYME

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400° F. Butter a 6-cup soufflé dish or an 8-cup gratin dish and coat it with the Parmesan. Heat the milk with the aromatics until it boils. Set it aside to steep for 15 minutes, then strain.
• Melt the butter in a saucepan. When foamy, stir in the flour and cook over low heat for several minutes. Whisk in the milk all at once and stir vigorously for a minute or so as it thickens, then add 3/4 teaspoon salt, a few twists of pepper, and the cayenne. Remove from heat. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time until well blended, then stir in the cheese. Don't worry about getting it smooth.
• Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they form firm peaks, then stir a quarter of them into the base to lighten the mixture. Fold in the rest, transfer to the prepared dish, then put in the center of the oven and lower the heat to 375° F. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and just a bit wobbly in the center. Remove, scatter the thyme over the top, and serve immediately.

SHALLOT TATINS WITH GOAT'S CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to fan 90C/conventional 110C/gas ¼. Halve the plum tomatoes lengthways and place, cut-side up, in a small shallow roasting tin. Trickle over 2-3 tablespoons of the oil, then scatter with the thyme leaves and some seasoning. Roast for about 45 minutes until the tomatoes soften a little, but still hold a good shape. Remove and cool, spooning over some of the roasting juices.
• While the tomatoes are roasting, blanch the shallots in boiling water for half a minute or so, then drain and cool under cold running water. Peel off the skins and trim the root ends. Also peel off any tough inner skins and cut any larger shallots in half so they are all roughly the same size.
• Heat all but 1 tbsp of the remaining oil in a large frying pan and toss in the shallots, stirring to coat in the oil. Sauté over a medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until they become tender and begin to turn mid-golden in colour. Add the rosemary, season and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
• Sprinkle the sugar and 2 tbsp water into a smaller frying pan and leave to stand for about 3 minutes. Put the pan over a low heat, shaking occasionally to mix the melting sugar and stirring gently. When all the sugar has dissolved, turn up the heat and cook to mid-golden brown.
• Remove from the heat and mix in first the butter and then the vinegar. Take care as this might spit a bit - you should be left with a nice syrup. Toss in the shallots and tomatoes and stir lightly to coat.
• Now stand eight 150ml ramekins on a metal baking sheet. Drain the shallots and tomatoes in a colander, saving the syrup, then divide them between the ramekins and set aside to cool.
• Cut the pastry into 4 oblong pieces on a lightly floured board. Roll out each one very thinly, then cut out two 9-10cm discs from each piece (the discs should be about 1cm larger than the diameter of the ramekins). Pick each piece up and press the edges gently between your fingertips to make the pastry thinner. Do not prick. Lay a pastry disc on top of each ramekin, then tuck the edges of the pastry down inside, between the tomatoes and shallots and the sides of the dishes, using the handle of a teaspoon to help. Press down lightly. (The tarts can now be chilled for up to 24 hours until ready to bake.)
• Preheat the oven to fan 200C/conventional 220C/gas 7. Bake for about 18-20 minutes until the pastry tops are crisp and mid-brown. Remove and cool for 5 minutes (the sugar will be very hot otherwise). Meanwhile, gently reheat the reserved syrup from the tomatoes and shallots with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil.
• Loosen the pastry edges with a small knife and carefully upend each ramekin on to a small plate. Cut the goat's cheese into 8 thin slices (discarding the rind ends), dipping your knife into a cup of hot water in between each slice. Put one slice on top of each tatin, drizzle over the warm syrup and garnish with little basil leaves. Serve warm.

GOAT CHEESE TARTLETS WITH CARAMELIZED SHALLOTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Set twelve 4-inch bottomless tartlet (flan) rings or twelve 4-inch tartlet pans with removable bottoms on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Lightly flour a clean working surface. Roll pate brisee to an 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out twelve 5-inch diameter circles, and fit into tartlet rings. Using a fork, prick pastry all over; chill until firm, at least 15 minutes.
• Line shells with aluminum foil; fill with dry beans or pie weights. Transfer baking sheets to oven; bake shells 12 minutes, rotating once during baking. Remove beans and foil. Continue baking until shells are slightly golden, 7 to 9 minutes. Remove baking sheets from oven; transfer to a wire rack. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
• In a medium skillet over medium-low heat, melt butter. Add shallots and sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until shallots are very tender and have deeply caramelized, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside.
• Place goat cheese in bowl of a food processor; puree until very smooth. Add heavy cream and sour cream; process until well combined. Transfer to a medium bowl.
• Stir in thyme and parsley; season with pepper. Spoon filling into each shell to within 1/8 inch from top, about 2 to 3 tablespoons per shell. Arrange 1 heaping teaspoon reserved shallots on top of each tartlet.
• Transfer baking sheets to oven; bake tartlets until filling has set, 13 to 15 minutes, rotating once. Transfer sheets to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Remove rings. Sprinkle remaining parsley over tartlets. To serve, place tartlets on plates. Garnish each plate with frisee.

GOAT CHEESE WITH SHALLOT-CASSIS MARMALADE

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large sauté pan and spread the shallots over the bottom. Sprinkle with salt. With the heat on low, allow the shallots to caramelize. It will take about 30 minutes, and you will need to stir from time to time so the shallots don't burn. In the meantime, pull the leaves from the thyme.
• Stir the thyme into the shallots, then scrape the shallots into a bowl. Place the pan back on the stove, add the vinegar and over medium-high heat stir to deglaze the pan. Pour the contents of the pan over the shallots and stir to mix. Add the crème de cassis, a little at a time, to taste. Allow the shallots to cool, then stir in the currants. Refrigerate.
• An hour before serving, set the cheese and shallots out to warm to room temperature. Slice a baguette or some country bread and serve the cheese with the bread and a large spoonful of the shallot marmalade on each plate.

GOAT CHEESE AND PROSCIUTTO SAVORY BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Toast bread cubes in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or so, stirring halfway through. Leave oven on at 350.
• In a bowl, mix together eggs, yolk, milk, and cream until thoroughly blended.
• In another bowl, toss together bread cubes, prosciutto, shallot, mushrooms, pine nuts, thyme, and pepper.
• Spray or lightly butter a 9x9 square baking pan and pour in the bread mixture, pat to distribute evenly. Crumble the chevre over all and mix in slightly with hands.
• Pour egg mixture over bread cubes. Sprinkle with shredded cheese such as parmesan or gruyere, for a golden crust.
• Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes, or it springs back when you poke it in the middle. Alternately, when a thermometer inserted into center reads above 145 degrees it is done.

PROSCIUTTO AND GOAT CHEESE TIMBALES WITH MIXED GREENS

Steps:

• Line six 2/3-cup ramekins with plastic wrap, leaving overhang. Line each ramekin with 2 slices prosciutto, overlapping in center and patching any holes with extra prosciutto. Stir goat cheese, cream cheese and 1/4 cup green onions in bowl until well blended. Season generously with pepper. Spoon into prepared ramekins, dividing equally. Fold prosciutto over to enclose. Fold plastic over to cover; press to compact. Chill overnight.
• Cook beans in medium pot of boiling salted water until just crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain; rinse with cold water and drain well. Pat dry. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)
• Invert ramekins to release timbales. Peel off plastic. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add timbales, bottom side down. Cover; cook until cheese is just soft when top of timbale is pressed, about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate; let stand 1 hour to set up.
• Meanwhile, combine vinegar and shallots in small bowl. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup oil. Season with salt and pepper.
• Combine greens, beans, 1/4 cup green onions and 2/3 cup dressing in large bowl; toss to coat. Divide salad among 6 plates. Top each with timbale. Drizzle some of remaining dressing over each.