Belinda Broughton’s Marinated Goats Cheese With Ginger, Basil, Garlic And Orange Zest

I have made and tweaked this recipe countless times and always to a ‘wow’ when people first try it! It’s simple, but it really raises the bar.

Serves 6-10

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Serve at room temperature with crackers or can be served in Belgian endive cups. Also great with crusty bread as the oil marinade is wonderful to mop up.

Ingredients:

1 (12oz approx) log of soft goats cheese or 3 smaller logs, chilled (I buy regular plain supermarket goat’s cheese, 11oz log size)

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1tbsp whole peppercorns, preferably a mixture of white, pink and black

1tsp whole allspice berries

2 cloves garlic, finely minced (I used the garlic crusher)

2tbsp finely minced fresh ginger (I grated it)

1/3 cup of slivered fresh basil

1 full tsp grated orange zest

crackers or Belgian endive

Method:

Using a thin-bladed vegetable knife, cut the goats cheese into 1/2 inch slices. Dip the blade into hot water after each cut or the slices will split.

Arrange the slices in a pretty, heat-resistant dish that you can serve in.

In a small saucepan, combine the olive oil, peppercorns and allspice berries.

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, ginger, basil and orange zest.

Place the saucepan over medium high heat and cook until the peppercorns begin to pop, about 2-3 mins.

Remove the pan from the heat and immediately stir in the garlic mixture. Stand back a little as you do this as it really bubbles!

After 5 seconds of stirring, pour the hot olive oil mixture over the goats cheese evenly, covering all the slices with the mixture well.

Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, covered, and will keep for a week.

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