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Cook the Book: Spinach Salad with Lentils and Crisp Warm Goat Cheese

Posted by Ed Levine, April 17, 2007 at 2:00 PM

The recipe that follows has been adapted from Nancy Silverton's A Twist of the Wrist. This is a recipe so easy and so elegant it was a huge hit at a recent dinner party my wife and I threw. And it looks good enough to be served at a fancy-pants restaurant.

Spinach Salad with Lentils and Crisp Warm Goat Cheese

For the goat cheese rounds
11 ounces fresh goat cheese

All-purpose flour, for dredging

1 large egg

1/2 cup panko or breadcrumbs

For the lentils
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 large garlic cloves, grated or minced (about 1 tablespoon)

Kosher salt

2 fifteen-ounce cans lentils or 1 nineteen-ounce can Progresso lentil soup, rinsed and drained (about 3 cups)

1/2 cup canola oil (or other neutral-flavored oil)

4 cups loosely packed baby spinach leaves

High-quality extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Sea salt

Procedure
1. To make the goat cheese rounds, slice the goat cheese log into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Flatten the round, being careful to retain a puck shape, until it's about a 3/4 inch thick. Repeat with the remaing goat cheese.

2. Put about 1/4 cup of flour into a small bowl. Lightly beat the egg in another bowl and pour the pank into a third bowl. Dredge one goat cheese round in the flour, coat it all over, and pat off any excess flour. Next, dip the cheese round into the egg to coat it, then into the panko, pressing the panko onto the cheese to coat all sides. Repeat with the remaining goat cheese rounds. Place all the rounds on a large dinner plate.

3. To make the lentils, heat 1/2 cup of the olive oil, the garlic, and a pinch of kosher salt together in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until the garlic is sorft and fragrant, about 1 1/2 minutes, stirring constantly so the garlic doesn't brown. Add the lentils, turn the heat up to high, and cook them for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they're warmed through. Season with kosher salt, turn off the heat, and stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil and the parsley.

4. While the lentils are warming, heat the canola oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until the oil's almost smoking (you will begin to smell the oil at that point). Place one goat cheese round in the skillet and fry it until it's golden brown, about 30 seconds per side, tilting the pan while the cheese cooks so the oil flows underneath it and keeps it from sticking to the pan. Remove the cheese round to a paper towel to drain and repeat with the remaining cheese rounds.

5. Spoon the lentils into mounds on four plates, dividing them evenly. Drop a handful of spinach in the center of each serving, drizzle with high-quality olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt. Top each with a round of goat cheese.

Photograph courtesy Knopf

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