Goat Cheese

Combine this elegant dish with Savory Pecan Rice (page 280) for company-pleasing fare.

Crunchy pecans and a mildly tart dressing enhance juicy, sweet pears topped with tangy goat cheese.

Don’t let the small size of these cheese balls fool you. They’re loaded with flavor and crunch!

I love using goat cheese in my healthy cooking. Although it has 6 grams of fat per ounce, I find I don’t need to use nearly as much as I do of other cheeses since it has such a great strong punch of flavor. I’ve served this asparagus side at many a dinner party, and guests have always raved.

It’s best to buy goat cheese that is precrumbled. This will save you time and make it easier to spread the cheese across the entire pizza, requiring less to get some in every bite. If you do buy it in a tube (it may make sense if it’s significantly less expensive that way), freeze it slightly before attempting to crumble it. It will crumble much easier.

This wrap is a quick and easy twist on one of my favorite pizzas. I love the combination of barbecue sauce and goat cheese dripping from meaty bites of fresh chicken with a kick of fresh cilantro. Yum! I think you will too.

These frittatas are ridiculously easy, especially if you consider how elegant they look. I’ve served them numerous times to last-minute brunch guests . . . and on those mornings where I just needed a hot, high-protein breakfast without any fuss. Do note it’s important to let the frittatas rest a couple of minutes before serving. You need to give the egg a chance to set a bit before eating. Also, when crumbling goat cheese, it’s best that it’s cold (it’s not a bad idea to freeze it slightly). When goat cheese is room temperature or only slightly chilled, it’s softer and thus tends not to crumble well. Also, 16 large egg whites or 2 cups 100% liquid egg whites can be swapped in for the egg substitute if preferred. Add 2 large egg whites or 1/4 cup 100% liquid egg whites to each cup of the muffin tin, and then follow the instructions below.

I’m on a never-ending search for different ways to prepare chicken, and I have one rule: Don’t make it different by making it more complicated. This chicken dish is simple, delicious, and different. It’s particularly great if you have company coming over. It will free you up so you can actually hang out, too!

This is the at-home version of another perfect meal from France. To make this more of a meal, serve with sliced French sausages and ham.

Serve with buttered and parslied orzo or small potatoes or with lots of crusty bread.

This meal is another B, L, D: good for Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner.

This recipe demonstrates the versatility of Activa YG in a dairy system, allowing us to make a delicate dumpling without conventional binders. We use the Activa at a ratio of 1 percent of the total weight of the ingredients. In the past we’ve paired these goat cheese dumplings with lobster. They would also be nice with a stew of mushrooms or spring vegetables, or as a warm accompaniment to a crisp salad with a simple vinaigrette.

Sometimes I discover dishes that are perfectly in accord with the laws of kashrut in unlikely places. Walking around a neighborhood market in Paris one day, I wandered into a small delicatessen shop called Partout et Tout Mieux, which translates as “Everywhere and Better.” An alluring cherry-tomato-and-basil tart sitting invitingly in the window caught my eye. So I went in and complimented Marie Le Bechennec, the shop owner, on the lovely-looking quiche. I explained that I was writing a cookbook on Jewish food in France and this crustless quiche would fit perfectly into a dairy meal. She replied that she and her husband, Serge, are from Brittany and have many Jewish customers. During the war, her father-in-law was taken prisoner by the Germans because he had hidden Jews who were being mistreated. She paused for a moment. “You know, I think my son is tolerant because he heard this strong voice growing up. That is the only way that tolerance will be translated from generation to generation.” Mary calls this dish a quiche clafoutis. In French cuisine, a quiche is a custard of eggs and milk or cream baked in a pastry crust. And clafoutis comes from the verb clafir, meaning “to fill up” or “puff up.” In this case, the bright-red tomatoes and green basil puff up to the top of the custard. I vary this dish by adding Parmesan and goat cheese; in winter try sautéed mushrooms or one package of frozen spinach and a handful of chives.

When I ate dinner at the Home of Nathalie Berrebi, a Frenchwoman living in Geneva, she served this savory quick bread warm and sliced thin, as a first course for a dinner attended by lots of children and adults. For the main course, Nathalie prepared rouget (red mullet) with an eggplant tapenade on top, something all the children loved. The entire dinner was delicious, but I especially liked that savory bread with the unexpected flavor combination of goat cheese, apricots, and fresh mint. Now I often make this quick bread for brunch or lunch and serve it with a green salad.

The salad is made in the Lebanese mountain villages with a fermented goat cheese, but you can use a strong, crumbly goat cheese.

Use a soft, fresh-tasting, mild goat cheese for these little pies. Use the fillo in sheets that measure 12 inches × 7 inches, which you can find fresh in some supermarkets, or use the large sheets measuring 19 inches × 12 inches and cut them in half. See the note on fillo on page 9. You can freeze these pies and you can put them straight from the freezer into the oven without thawing, but they will need a little more cooking time. They make elegant and tasty party fare.

A mild and soft fresh goat cheese, jban, is one of the rare cheeses produced in Morocco. If you are not keen on raw garlic, you can leave it out.