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This delicious baked goat cheese salad is topped with warm and crispy breadcrumb-coated goat cheese and tarragon patties and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds for a bit of fruitiness. It takes only 30 minutes to put together and is substantial enough to be a main course.
It takes a lot for me to eat a salad. There has to be something mighty good mixed into all the raw greens or else I’m just not interested. This baked goat cheese salad here is one of the few that manages to pique and hold my attention. Its highlight is warm and crispy breadcrumb-coated goat cheese and tarragon patties. If these are in a salad, I’ll happily eat my greens.
The strong tarragon flavor complements the tangy and creamy goat cheese, the crispy breadcrumbs add a nice, delicate crunch and the pomegranate seeds round out everything with their sweetness. The baby kale is strong enough in texture and flavor to hold up to the patties. (But don’t feel that you have to use kale; arugula, spinach or romaine will work just as well).
I debated wether to call this an appetizer or a main course and eventually settled on main. You can make it an appetizer but I would suggest only one patty per person for that.
How to make this baked goat cheese salad:
This recipe starts with the most important part, which is the goat cheese tarragon patties. They are easy to make but you will get your hands dirty because you will have to fold the chopped fresh tarragon into the goat cheese with your hands. Don’t worry about distributing it evenly, it’s fine if all the tarragon is sitting more or less on the surface of the patties.
Once you’ve formed the goat cheese into discs, you dip them in beaten egg and then rolled them in bread crumbs. Right before you put them in the oven, you drizzle a little bit of olive oil on.
While the patties are baking, you can whisk together the dressing and distribute the greens and pomegranate seeds onto plates. As soon as the patties are golden-brown, take them out of the oven, set them on the salads and drizzle with the dressing.
More delicious salads:
- Mediterranean Chicken Salad
- Roasted Cauliflower Salad
- Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
- Dolmas Salad with Roasted Cauliflower Rice
- Mango, Basil and Tomato Salad
- Roasted Pepper and Corn Salad with Goat Cheese Dressing
- Sesame Salmon Salad
- Meatball Salad
Baked Goat Cheese Salad
Ingredients:
For the goat cheese patties:
- 6 ounces goat cheese
- 2 slices white or whole wheat sandwich bread
- 1 egg
- 3 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
For the dressing:
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 3.5 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
For the salad:
- greens of your choice (baby kale, romaine, spinach, arugula, etc.)
- pomegranate seeds
Instructions:
For the goat cheese patties:
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Beat the egg and put on one plate.
- Process the bread into crumbs and place them on another plate.
- Divide the cheese into four pieces.
- Evenly divide the tarragon and fold into the cheese with your hands.
- Form the cheese into disks with your hands.
- Roll the cheese disks in the egg and then in the breadcrumbs.
- Place the disks on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil.
- Bake the cheese until golden brown on the outside (10 to 15 minutes).
For the dressing:
- While the cheese is in the oven, mix all dressing ingredients together until smooth.
For the salad:
- Assemble everything on plates, drizzle with dressing and serve immediately.
Nutrition
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Well, I was gonna ask about the bowl but then I read the other comments, so Etsy spree it is. But I mostly wanted to say your photos are PERFECT ! It is like looking at a coffee table book of dreamy photos. Impecable !
That is SO nice of you to say, Florentina! Thank you!! :)
This salad looks like something for me, I love goat cheese a lot :)
Your photography is beautiful!
That is so nice to hear, Evi, thank you! :)
The photo is amazing! Great job! Goat cheese salad is my favorite ever. I love how you turn the cheese into patties rather than simply topping the salad with slices of cheese. Will definitely try this! Pinned :)
Thank you so much, Sharon! :)
Good Morning Nicole. You inspire me with every post. I appreciate your describing your thought process behind each shoot. Your recipe is mouthwateringly delicious, and I agree with Kevin. I too am intrigued with the Worcestershire in the dressing. Paired with the dijon it sounds tangy along side the mellow goat cheese and kale. Delicious! Looking forward to enjoying this!
How lovely to start the day reading a comment like this, Traci. You made my whole day. :)
Yay! You made this for us once, and I loved it! Now I don’t have to beg you for the recipe :).
I love the photograph! The red of the pomegranate seeds sets off the rest of the composition beautifully. There’s something about the wedge of the goat cheese patty being cut out that I love, too, but I can’t put my finger on why – I just love the way it looks!
Gorgeous – goat cheese is going on the grocery list this week!
That’s right! I make this all the time in the summer when the garden is pumping out arugula faster than we can eat it. Glad you like the photo (as I know you have a very good eye)!
Now this I saw already on FB this morning and boy it is a beauty. Not only in the photography, the placement of the ingredients in the killer bowl (I want it!), but the ingredients.YUM.
I think the goat cheese and tarragon combo is wonderful and the Worcestershire sauce in the dressing intrigues me.
Thank you, Kevin! That really is a good bowl, I got it on etsy a while ago and I like the way it looks on this dark wood tray.