Green Salad With Warm Goat Cheese (Salade de Chèvre Chaud)

Updated Oct. 12, 2023

Green Salad With Warm Goat Cheese (Salade de Chèvre Chaud)
Chris Simpson for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Suzie Myers.
Total Time
20 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Rating
5(524)
Notes
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Some dishes are showstoppers, while others are ordinary, unfussy and exactly what you want on a slow evening when nothing need be achieved or sought after. This is a simple salad, with the smallest exalting touch: rounds of goat cheese coated in beaten egg and the sheerest veil of bread crumbs, then gently pressed in a hot pan until dark gold. They come served over a careless toss of greens — you can add fresh herbs like dill or parsley for featheriness and a bright lift — in a dressing that requires no more than oil, vinegar, mustard and a single shallot. Eat immediately, when the greens are fresh and cool, and the cheese is still warm, faintly crackly on the outside and oozy within.

Featured in: A Meal in France Showed Me the Brilliance of Simplicity

Learn: How to Make Salad

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

    For the Goat Cheese

    • 1cup fine plain bread crumbs (see Tip)
    • ½teaspoon fine sea salt
    • ¼teaspoon black pepper
    • 1large egg
    • 1(8-ounce) log fresh goat cheese, chilled
    • Extra-virgin olive oil, for pan-frying

    For the Salad

    • 2tablespoons red wine vinegar
    • 2teaspoons Dijon mustard
    • 1small shallot, minced
    • Salt and black pepper
    • cup extra-virgin olive oil
    • 10 to 12ounces crisp salad greens
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

479 calories; 42 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 25 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 11 grams protein; 376 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Prepare the goat cheese: In a shallow dish, mix the bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Crack the egg into a separate bowl and beat with a fork. Using unflavored dental floss or a sharp knife, cut the goat cheese into ½-inch-thick rounds.

  2. Step 2

    Dip each round in the beaten egg, then dredge in the crumbs until completely covered, and transfer to a plate. Refrigerate until very firm, at least 5 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Meanwhile, make the salad: In a large bowl, whisk the vinegar, mustard and shallot with a pinch each of salt and pepper. While whisking, add the oil in a slow, thin stream and mix until emulsified. Add the greens and gently toss to coat. Season with more salt and pepper as needed. Divide among serving plates.

  4. Step 4

    Fry the goat cheese: Heat a thin layer of oil in a large nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over medium. Add the breaded goat cheese rounds and cook, turning once, until dark gold, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels to drain, then set over the salad. Serve immediately.

Tip
  • Add a pinch of minced fresh thyme leaves to the crumb mixture to give the breading a warm, piney contour.

Ratings

5 out of 5
524 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

One of my favorite salads for years and I always order it when I find it in a resto. However, a few years ago I dropped the breading and frying of the chevre. Instead, I simply heat part of a log of goat cheese in the oven or microwave with olive oil and fines herbs. Then I plunk the warm soft chevre on my dressed greens and eat with crusty bread. For me, it's the same or even better and reminds me of my years living in Paris.

A recipe that comes with such an interesting and well written background story behind it makes it all the more enticing. I'm looking forward to making this soon. The dental floss is a practical touch as a stand in for the wire often used at cheese counters, and I laughed at "unflavored" as I entertained (and subsequently dismissed) the idea of using mint flavored floss!

Sherry vinegar is much better than red wine vinegar in this recipe

Add sliced warm beets too!

The essay accompanying this recipe was beautiful, and I can't wait to try this salad sometime soon!

Love this story, totally adds to the simple romance of the dish. I might add a poached egg or two as well when I make it.

Great story about why we travel and how the history and culture of a Place can be found on the plate and in the glass. One of the reasons I love New York City is the availability of foods and drink that can allow me to recreate a meal that I enjoyed elsewhere in the world and of course good writing also does this. Thank you for both the article and the recipe.

“In the maze of the old quarter, we sat at a table outside, on stone stairs descending from another century.” I am rarely in the kitchen as it is my husband’s domain, however, a version of this recipe has long been my contribution to our dinner parties.

Michele, that's the perfect line that got me too.

Excellent. I just finished it! Followed the recipe exactly and my only regret is that I didn’ make more.

This reminds me to try and thank all the kind people who helped me when I was a young traveler

There are no ingredients in this recipe that are not available beyond the provincial boundaries of the Hudson and East Rivers. We have goat cheese, greens, eggs and all sorts of ingredients. We even have Dijon mustard.

Thanks for sharing! I like mine with lemon juice, a bit of honey, minced garlic and the lemon zest. EVO of course!

Nice salad Great story

Beautiful essay/intro. Should be expanded into a novel.

This is a pretty boring salad except for the cool fried goat cheese suggestion. I wish they had suggested more ingredients. I went with adding avocado and Kalamata olives and it wasn't bad. The goat cheese thing was delicious, if a bit intense.

My first recipe! I loved this, although my cheese did crumble and I had to ball them up. I added cooked (not picked) beetroot and will definitely be making this again.

Just excellent, and dead easy.

So simple, so delicious. Followed recipe with the exception of adding sliced peaches. Will make again and again.

I just made this tonight. Had a balsamic dressing already made. Did the goat cheese as instructed. Added fresh pear (ala the 80's). thinly sliced shallots. Mixed lettuces.

Per Alexa, one small shallot equals 11 grams.

This was a simple and delicious way to get some greens in. As per a suggestion below, I added pomegranate seeds and found they were a lovely addition!

Delicious! I added mango slices and might try arugula or all radicchio for the greens next time rather than a mix. This reminds me of a salad I used to eat regularly 20 years ago at a restaurant I worked at. How wonderful to taste it again after so many years!

I find letting the goat cheese come close to room temperature before you cut/slice it helps it stay in clean rounds. I used a knife to cut cold cheese and ended up with a few crumbled/broken pieces. Still delicious!

I forgot to get beets so used from jar, and added chopped Lucy rose apples, bit of honey and ume plum vinegar to dressing, in addition to fresh tarragon leaves in salad and minced in dressing. Fresh thyme in breadcrumbs of course! Yum :)

Delicious recipe. I added slivered almonds, roasted pine nuts, and some pomegranate seeds which gave a great sour punch

I think it works better if you add the salt and pepper (and thyme or other herbs, if using) to the egg before you beat it, instead of adding it to the breadcrumbs.

The simplicity but yet, complex flavors of this salad are incredible. We will make this again and again.

I used our air fryer to cook the cheese coins and added some rotisserie chicken breast to make it a terrific weeknight dinner.

So happy to find this lovely and simple recipe! Absolutely delicious! It transported me to my year as an exchange student in Belgium, when I first enjoyed this salad, and haven’t had it since. This will be a regular for me.

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