Goatās curd, blueberries and watercress
Goatās curd, blueberries and watercress
Goatās curd ā which tastes like light, creamy, almost āunformedā goatās cheese ā is quite hard to find unless you live near a top-notch cheesemonger. But itās a cinch to make. It doesnāt have to be made into a āproperā dish, either. Spread it on bread then drizzle with olive oil, or a little flower honey.
This salad is lovely with added spelt (see crazy grains for how to cook it, youāll need just 50g/1Ā¾oz raw weight). Toss it in some of the dressing and scatter in the bowl or on the plates before you add everything else. Y1ouāll need to increase the quantity of dressing a little, too. The vinegar I use for this, made by A lāOlivier, contains raspberry pulp and is stocked at Waitrose.
The recipe for the goatās curd is from my good friend, the food writer Xanthe Clay. It makes about 175g (6oz) of goatās curd.
Ingrediƫnten
FOR THE GOATāS CURD
- 1 litre 1Ā¾ pints whole goatās milk (pasteurized is fine)
- 1 tbsp rennet
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- salt
FOR THE DRESSING
- 1 tbsp raspberry vinegar
- 2 tbsp hazelnut oil
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Ā½ tsp runny honey optional
- pepper
FOR THE SALAD
- 100 g 3Ā½oz watercress, coarse stalks removed
- 100 g 3Ā½oz blueberries
- 150 g 5Ā½oz goatās curd
- 20 g Ā¾oz pistachios, or toasted hazelnuts or almonds, coarsely chopped
- 15 g Ā½oz microleaves (red amaranth is especially lovely), if you can get them
Instructies
- To make the goatās curd, heat the milk to 25Ā°C (77Ā°F).
- Stir in the rennet and lemon juice, cover and leave for an hour.
- Line a colander with muslin and place it over a bowl.
- Strain the mixture through the muslin.
- Gather the corners to make a kind of bag and hang this to drip for a couple of hours (use the tap over the sink, or a door handle where it can drip into a bowl).
- It should be thick, but if youād like it thicker, just leave to drip for longer.
- Tip the cheese out of the muslin and into a bowl.
- Season with salt and gently mix this in.
- Cover and keep in the fridge.
- Whisk all the dressing ingredients together with a fork, adding salt to taste.
- Toss the watercress and berries with this, then put into a broad shallow bowl (or arrange on plates) and dot with the goatās curd.
- Sprinkle with the nuts and microleaves (if using), then serve.
- another ideaā¦ Slice 350g (12oz) sweet tomatoes (mixed colours if possible) and put in a bowl with the torn leaves from a bunch of basil.
- Drizzle with extra virgin oil and lemon juice, season and dot nuggets of 175g (6oz) goatās curd on top.
- This also works with cooked farro dressed with oil and lemon (see crazy grains, youāll need 50g/1Ā¾oz raw weight).
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
The curd is delicious with fruit as well. Use it instead of ricotta for the recipe Ricotta with summer berries and honey.
