This is a winter salad, a celebration of the citrus which makes its way north travelling from the warm, sunny, sunshine state along highways that pass through a country which greys fr om the lush green of citrus state, to greyed, leafless trees and colourless grass land, to here, a country of too many acres of too much snow and too much cold and too little light.
Pretty on the plate, this dish is coloured with the very pale, almost white, green of fennel, the pink and pale pearl of the grapefruit, the toasted warmth of the crusted cheese and the splashes of pink in the vinaigrette.
On those days, as the day light lengthens, and the sun warms the kitchen to an almost spring warmth, this makes a beautiful light lunch.
A few notes on the salad: try to use both pink and white grapefruit, it makes the salad more of a visual delight. I enjoy the sharp sour-sweet taste of the grapefruit, however, you can mix in other citrus as well: if you cab find them, the Meyer lemon – a lemon/tangerine highbred – adds additional depth to the plate; to sweeten the disk, you can blend in some sweeter orange, but to so with a light hand, the stronger flavour of the grapefruit or Meyer lemons balances the chalky flavour of the cheese. The sweetness of the orange lacks the depth to balance the salad.
As to the cheese, I prefer the flavour and texture of an unripen goat cheese. However, if you prefer a richer, more creamy texture, you can go with a brie style cheese: I often use a raw cow’s milk triple brie from Quebec or for an intriguing variation, try one of the soft-ripened Fifth Town Goat Cheese, which keeps that chalkiness of goat cheese, but at the same time provides a more creamy finish.
Finally a note on the crust: I use almonds in this crust, both for texture and for taste. You want a little crunch in the finish. If you prefer, and can find and afford them, pine nuts offer a beautiful finish. Another tree nut can also be substituted.
Almond and Herb Crushed Goat Cheese Fritter
served over a shaved fennel and grapefruit salad
with a dijon and pink peppercorn vinaigrette
for the fritter:
4 X 2 oz. goat cheese, formed into a “puck”
½ cup bread crumbs ½ cup almonds, chopped
1 Tbsp. each parsley, thyme, chives, minced
1 tsp. lemon zest
seasoned flour 1 egg beaten with tablespoons of water
Combine the bread crumbs, almonds, lemon zest and herbs; set aside. Toss the goat cheese win the seasoned flour, dip in egg and roll in the almond mixture to well crust. Refrigerate. Just before serving, prepare the plate, brown the fritter.
for the vinaigrette:
¼ cup shallot, thinly sliced 1 cups olive oil
2 Tbsp. each grapefruit juice, champagne vinegar and white wine
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard ¼ cup pink peppercorns, lightly crushed
¼ cup chives, minced salt and honey to taste
Combine the juice, vinegar, wine and mustard; whisk in the olive oil, shallots, peppercorns and herbs. Adjust seasoning.
for the salad:
1 bulb of fennel 2-3 grapefruit
baby greens
Remove the core from the fennel; it is easiest to shave it the fennel with a mandolin – a Japanese variation, the Benrinder, is available in some Chines kitchenware stores for about $40 and is a good investment. Carefully cut the skin from the grape fruit; over a bowl, slice out the segments and squeeze the juice into the bowl. The juice can be used in the vinaigrette, above. Combine the fennel and grapefruit and toss with the vinaigrette, making a bed on the plate. Mold the greens on the grapefruit mixture – I don’t dress it, there should be sufficient vinaigrette on the grapefruit mixture to “dress” the greens. I hate overdressed salads. Finish with the goat cheese fritter.
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