fried goat cheese

When we travelled to Tuscany we stayed at Il Canto del Sole, a farmhouse villa in Monteroni d'Arbia. Owned by a charming couple, Luciano and Laura, the highlight of our stay there was an amazing multi-course dinner they lovingly prepared for us.

As great as the meal was, the wine was even better. Luciano shared from his private stock of Brunello di Motalcino. I must have drunk a lot because I can no longer remember all that we ate. I do know we had a delicious fried goat cheese, which I've tried to reproduce here.

Ingredients:
1 round of goat cheese
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tsp. dried herbs de Provence or thyme or any mixture of herbs
1/2 tsp. powdered garlic
1/2 tsp. pepper
pinch of kosher salt
1 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup of flour
olive oil

Directions:
Put the panko in bowl. Add herbs, garlic, pepper, and salt. Mix well to combine. Beat the egg in a separate bowl. Put flour on plate.

Remove any outer casing from cheese and dredge in flour. Drop the floured cheese into the beaten egg. Flip it gently to coat with egg on both sides. Lastly, put it into the seasoned panko breadcrumbs. Flip it to coat on both sides. Put a little olive oil in a nonstick pan. Use just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil shimmers, you’re ready to fry.

Set the cheese down gently in the hot oil. It should start to bubble around the edges immediately. Keep an eye on your cheese…it cooks fast. When the cheese is brown on the bottom (this will happen very quickly), flip it over carefully with a spatula. Remove and serve.