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Marinated goat’s cheese salad

Name: Marinated goat’s cheese salad
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: British recipes
Ingredients: For the marinated cheese; ½ tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed; 2 rosemary sprigs; 3 thyme sprigs, plus extra leaves to serve; 1 small red chilli, halved lengthways; 1 garlic clove, halved; 200ml extra-virgin olive oil or cold-pressed rapeseed oil; 125g soft goat’s cheese log, sliced; For the salad; 4 red chicory; 2 tbsp cider vinegar; 1 tsp honey; 40g walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped; 2 ripe pears, cored and cut into thin wedges

By: Emily Gussin
Food producer and sustainability lead, delicious.

Published: 16 Nov 22
Updated: 18 Mar 24

Infusing creamy, soft goat’s cheese with aromatic fennel seeds, rosemary and chilli is a simple way to turn an already tasty treat into something even better. It also looks pretty in the jar so make sure you bring it to the table for a bit of wow factor.

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Easy
December 2022

Test kitchen approved

Serves 4
Hands-on time 30 min

Discover more of our impressive starters here.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 332kcals
Fat: 6.8g (8.1g saturated)
Protein: 9.1g
Carbohydrates: 11.9g (10.1g sugars)
Fibre: 3.6g
Salt: 0.5g

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Ingredients

For the marinated cheese

½ tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
2 rosemary sprigs
3 thyme sprigs, plus extra leaves to serve
1 small red chilli, halved lengthways
1 garlic clove, halved
200ml extra-virgin olive oil or cold-pressed rapeseed oil
125g soft goat’s cheese log, sliced

For the salad

4 red chicory
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp honey
40g walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
2 ripe pears, cored and cut into thin wedges

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Method

Heat the fennel seeds in a small pan for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the chilli, garlic, rosemary and thyme to the pan then pour over the oil. Cook gently to heat through and infuse the oil (about 3 minutes). Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Put the goat’s cheese slices in a clean jar or container then pour over the cooled oil. Keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Remove the jar of marinated cheese from the fridge 3 hours before serving to come to room temperature. Trim the chicory and separate out the leaves. Pour 3 tbsp oil from the jar of marinated cheese into a large bowl then whisk in the vinegar and honey with a pinch of salt. Toss the chicory in the dressing then divide between plates. Top with the nuts and sliced pear, with the cheese in its beautiful marinade for people to help themselves.

Recipe from December 2022 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 332kcals
Fat: 6.8g (8.1g saturated)
Protein: 9.1g
Carbohydrates: 11.9g (10.1g sugars)
Fibre: 3.6g
Salt: 0.5g

delicious. tips

Keep the leftover oil in the fridge for up to a week to use in other dishes; the infused herbs, garlic and chilli will add extra flavour to your meals.

You can use any other hardy herbs you have to hand. Swap out the chilli for chilli flakes, toasting them with the fennel seeds at the start.

You can easily double or triple the marinated cheese to feed a crowd.
Make the cheese up to 3 days in advance – the salad needs to be assembled right before serving but it’s very quick.