Iron Chef Cheese: Parmesan Crusted Goat Cheese w/ Basil Oil

One of my favorite food blogs that I love to peruse is Annie's Eats. I've tried several of her recipes and so far I've loved them all. Last year, she posted a recipe for this goat cheese and basil oil, and I thought it looked so pretty in the picture that I bookmarked it to use in an eventual iron chef. Well, the perfect opportunity arose when we had Iron Chef Cheese. I knew I wanted to make this recipe, but I did try this one as well. It was also tasty. However, I decided to go with the goat cheese with basil oil, because I knew it would be a pretty presentation. This is definitely a tasty recipe, and very easy to make. I was right in making this for Iron Chef Cheese; I took home 2nd place for this one! Give this recipe a try at your next party. Your friends won't be disappointed. Trust me! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
For the goat cheese:
½ oz. Parmesan cheese
¼ cup panko
Freshly ground pepper
4 oz. semi-firm plain goat cheese
1 clove garlic
¼ tsp. coarse salt, plus more to taste

For the basil oil:
¼ cup fresh basil leaves
1 clove garlic
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Baguettes for serving

First thing you do is take your goat cheese and smush it in a medium sized bowl. Sprinkle some ground pepper and the salt into the bowl. Mix together. Take your garlic clove and mince it. Sprinkle salt onto the garlic. Then take a knife and start mashing it until the garlic forms a paste-like consistency. Put this in the cheese bowl, and mix together with your hands. Now, take a food processor and throw in your parmesan and panko crumbs. Pulse until the mixture is nice and fine. Pour this onto a medium size plate. Sprinkle some salt and pepper onto the panko mixture. Now, take your goat cheese and form it into a ball. Roll the goat cheese ball into the panko/parmesan mixture until it is completely covered. Cover with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge for a bit.

Next, take a small sauce pan and fill with water. Bring to a boil. Place a bowl filled with ice water next to the sauce pan. Place your basil in the boiling water for about 30 seconds. Immediately remove from the boiling water and dunk it into the ice water. This helps the basil retain it's green color. Dry the basil with a paper towel. Take your food processor (hopefully, you cleaned it from the previous step) and place the garlic and basil in it. Pulse until the basil and garlic is finely minced. Scrape down the sides of the food processor. Start the food processor back up again and this time pour the olive oil down the feed tube in a steady stream. Process until completely combined. It should form a green hue. Stop the food processor and strain the mixture thru a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl. Discard the minced basil. Next, remove your goat cheese from the fridge, and discard the plastic wrap. Place the goat cheese in the center of the bowl that has the basil oil and serve with toasted baguettes slices. Enjoy!!


(Click here for printable recipe)