Marinated Goat’s Cheese with Wild Herbs & Spices

As much as I love whiling away an afternoon, or indeed an entire day, cooking something elaborate, I tend not to want to take forever making lunches during the week. The flip side is that I still don’t want lunch to be boring, and so I have a few recipes up my sleeve that I can make ahead to have with crusty bread or to jazz up a salad. This goats cheese marinated with herbs and spices is a great recipe for making ahead as the cheese will last for a good week or so once made.

The soft, rindless goats cheese is rolled into bite-sized balls and coated with a blend of herbs and spices before being covered with oil. The resulting creamy flavour bombs are great for spreading on bread or crackers, popping in a sandwich with some roasted red peppers or throwing on top of some fresh spinach. It also makes a great gift and will probably make an appearance in this year’s Christmas hampers for my family (sorry for the spoiler if any of them are reading)!

The combination of herbs and spices is really up for interpretation and a chance to experiment with different flavours to suit your taste or perhaps to use up whatever you might have to hand. Chilli flakes, cracked black pepper, basil, rosemary, thyme and lemon zest are all great flavours to try, but for this recipe I’ve gone for a typically wild approach using wild fennel seeds, dried wild oregano, dried mugwort which has a flavour similar to sage, and ground alexanders seeds to replicate the flavour of black pepper. (I’m sure this goes without saying, but obviously make sure you’re 100% on your ID before picking anything to eat).

The herbs I’ve used could be used fresh in this recipe, but I tend to dry plenty of herbs while they’re in season so they can be used later in the year. After all, this recipe in particular fits in just as well on a festive table as it does in a summer picnic basket!

Marinated Goat’s Cheese with Wild Herbs & Spices Recipe

Ingredients

• 250g soft, rindless goat’s cheese, fridge-cold
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp dried herbs (I used mugwort & wild oregano)
• 1/2 tsp crushed alexanders seeds (or use black pepper)
• 1/2 tsp garlic puree
• pinch salt
• extra virgin olive oil enough to fill your container

Method

1. Sterilise a jar big enough to fit your goat’s cheese.
2. Tear the goat’s cheese into pieces and roll into bite-sized balls. Place the cheese in a bowl and carefully sprinkle over the herbs, seeds and spices so that they get a good covering of flavour.
3. Mix the garlic puree and salt in about a tablespoon of the oil and drizzle over the cheese balls before transferring them to your jar. Fill the jar with enough oil to cover the cheese entirely.
4. Chill and leave to marinate for 2 days. Store in the fridge, and eat within 2 weeks with toast or fresh crunchy vegetables.

Let me know if you try this recipe by commenting below or tagging me in your creations on Instagram at @plotandlane where I love to re-share your posts. I can’t wait to see which herbs and spices you decide to go for!