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Greens with Warm Breaded Goat Cheese and Fig Balsamic

One of my all-time favorite salads. If feeding a group. Prepare everything in advance and cook goat cheese right before serving!
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Keyword party recipe, weeknight dinner
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Author Linda Spiker

Ingredients

Dressing:

  • ⅓ cup Olive Oil
  • 3 Tablespoons Fig or traditional Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 pinch of sea salt
  • a few turns freshly ground black pepper

Salad:

  • 5 oz bag mixed baby greens
  • 1 ripe Asian pear, or your favorite variety thinly sliced
  • Desired amount of Caramelized Nuts (or plain if you prefer)
  • Warm Breaded Goat Cheese Rounds, recipe below

Warm Breaded Goat Cheese:

  • 8 oz Goat Cheese, sliced into ¼” rounds (use dental floss for easy slixing!)
  • ⅔ cups bread crumbs with Italian seasoning
  • 2 egg whites, beaten with a tablespoon of water
  • 1 Tablespoon Butter
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive oil

Instructions

For Dressing:

  • Combine dressing ingredients in container with lid. Shake. Set aside.

For Salad:

  • Place greens, sliced pears and caramelized nuts on a platter

For Warm Breaded Goat Cheese:

  • Whisk egg whites and water in shallow bowl, set aside
  • Slice goat cheese into ¼ inch rounds. Dental floss works really well for slicing soft goat cheese. If slices fall apart, just press together with palms.
  • In a shallow bowl, whisk together eggs whites and water. Place bread crumbs into another shallow bowl. Dip each slice of goat cheese in egg white mixture and then into breadcrumbs, coating all sides. Place on a plate and chill for 15 minutes in fridge.
  • When you are ready to cook goat cheese, toss salad with dressing and divide onto plates
  • Heat butter and olive oil in pan on med/high heat. When hot, very gently place goat cheese rounds in pan.
  • When breadcrumbs are golden (60-90 seconds), use two forks to gently turn over goat cheese
  • When second side is golden remove immediately and place cheese on top of dressed salad. Don't be surprised if you lose a couple along the way…they can fall apart easily. I always make a few more than I need, just in case.
  • Serve and enjoy!