Fried Goat Cheese Salad

Melted cheese is good. So is fried food. So let's do both of those things and make a fried goat cheese salad with Honey Mustard Lemon Poppyseed Vinaigrette. Do you like how many words I fit into one salad dressing title?

First, pick some baby salad greens. From your garden or your fridge.

Since I don't have a salad spinner, we had a glass of wine and clipped our toenails while the lettuce dried.

Whipping up the vinaigrette. I realized this week that "condiments" is a really fun word to say. For so many reasons.

Cheese dipping station.

Goat cheese can be messy to cut into rounds. Throw it in the freezer for 20 minutes or so and cut with dental floss or a really sharp knife.

Get the pan pretty hot before adding the cheese and be careful turning the cheese rounds as they are fragile.

Goat Cheese Salad with Honey Mustard Lemon Poppyseed Vinaigrette
Inspired by (but nowhere near as fancy) Love & Olive Oil
serves 2

5-6 oz goat cheese (log style)
enough salad greens for 2 salads
1/3 cup flour
1 egg
1/2 cup panko
pepper

For vinaigrette:
1 tsp dijon mustard
juice from 1 lemon
1 TBL honey
1 tsp poppy seeds
salt & pepper
1/4 - 1/3 cup olive oil

Put the goat cheese in the freezer to harden up while you whip up the vinaigrette. Put all the vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while you whisk. Taste as you go and make adjustments if needed. Set up the cheese dipping station with 3 plates. In the first plate put the flour and some pepper, in the next plate put the egg and whip it up, in the last plate put the panko. Slice your goat cheese rounds, you'll want them about 1/4 inch thick. Dredge in flour, then egg, then panko and fry in a hot (medium high) non-stick pan with a little olive oil. Flip when you see a nice browning happening, this happens pretty fast. Toss the salad greens with the vinaigrette and place cheese rounds on top. Enjoy!