Stryker Farm's Crottin Pastured Goat's Milk Cheese, Persimmon, Butternut Squash Puree, Salad of Mint, Watercress, Lemon Verbena, Basil, Fennel, Nasturtium, Anise Hyssop & Clover
I am a firm believer that cheese can be enjoyed with the absence of bread. I think that sometimes bread takes away from cheese, especially a mild or delicate one. And at the end of a long meal just before dessert the last thing you need is more bread. I like to pair things that elevate the natural flavors of the cheese. The goats that provide the milk for this particular cheese are pastured. They roam freely through field and forest eating an array of plants and grasses. Their diet shows through in their milk and subsequently the cheese made from it.
I think that the mix of herbs and greens I used here acted like a seasoning for the cheese. Like salt and pepper on a steak they brought out the cheese's own flavor without masking it. I didn't using a dressing on the salad as I didn't want to cover up it's flavor either. I simply trimmed them and arranged them in a little pile.
Underneath the salad I placed a pumpkin puree that had some vanilla in it. The puree, along with the sliced persimmons added some sweetness to the plate.
Product:
Crottin Goat Cheese - Stryker Farm
Organic Persimmons - Culton Organics
Organic Butternut Squash - Root Mass Farm
Organic Water Cress - Culton Organics
Organic Fennel Fronds - Culton Organics
Organic Lemon Verbena - My Garden
Organic Basil - My Garden
Organic Mint - My Garden
Organic Nasturtium Flowers - My Garden
Organic Anise Hyssop - My Garden
Wild Clover - My "Backyard"
I think that the mix of herbs and greens I used here acted like a seasoning for the cheese. Like salt and pepper on a steak they brought out the cheese's own flavor without masking it. I didn't using a dressing on the salad as I didn't want to cover up it's flavor either. I simply trimmed them and arranged them in a little pile.
Underneath the salad I placed a pumpkin puree that had some vanilla in it. The puree, along with the sliced persimmons added some sweetness to the plate.
Product:
Crottin Goat Cheese - Stryker Farm
Organic Persimmons - Culton Organics
Organic Butternut Squash - Root Mass Farm
Organic Water Cress - Culton Organics
Organic Fennel Fronds - Culton Organics
Organic Lemon Verbena - My Garden
Organic Basil - My Garden
Organic Mint - My Garden
Organic Nasturtium Flowers - My Garden
Organic Anise Hyssop - My Garden
Wild Clover - My "Backyard"