Salad with Warm Goat Cheese

This is a French cafe classic that turns a salad into a dinner-worthy first course. Rounds of goat cheese (ideally Montrachet) get dipped in beaten egg whites, pressed into breadcrumbs, and chilled on a rack so the coating sets before frying. That chill is what keeps the crumb coating on instead of sliding off in the pan.

The cheese fries in a mix of olive oil and butter over medium-high heat, just long enough to brown the outside before the inside melts away. Pull too early and the crust is pale; go too long and the cheese oozes out the sides. Thirty seconds per side is the sweet spot.

The dressing gets body from a single egg yolk emulsified with champagne vinegar, apple cider vinegar, and a full cup of olive oil. Dress the greens first, then top with two warm, crackly goat cheese rounds per plate.

Chef Tips

• Use cold, firm cheese for slicing. Room-temp goat cheese squishes under the knife and won’t hold round shapes.
• Press the breadcrumbs firmly onto each slice so the coating bonds.
• The 15-minute chill after breading is the single most important step. Skip it and the crust falls off in the pan.
• Serve immediately; the crust softens within minutes as the warm cheese radiates heat.

Variations

• Use herbed goat cheese or roll the rounds in panko or chopped hazelnuts for crunch.
• Add candied walnuts, sliced pears, or roasted beets to the salad.
• Swap champagne vinegar for sherry or white wine vinegar.