This recipe was a HIT – 8 oz. of crumbled cheese gone in 20 minutes flat. It also didn’t hurt that I served it with homemade sourdough bread.
I started by toasting sesame seeds in a skillet until golden and fragrant. Then I added olive oil, finely chopped lemon, fresh thyme, salt and pepper. These ingredients spent only two minutes over the heat before I poured them over the crumbled goat cheese. I let the bowl sit for 30 minutes before sticking it in the fridge. I served this appetizer alongside Alison’s Marinated Artichoke Hearts.
A few tips:
Buy a large log of goat cheese from TJ’s and crumble it yourself. They sell 12oz. Logs of cheese for only $5, whereas the crumbled version only comes in 6oz. containers and they’re more expensive. Don’t even try to look at Whole Foods - you’ll overpay no matter what.
Don’t skip the sumac. I get that this is a more niche ingredient for many of us and it can be hard to find. If you don’t have a middle eastern grocery story near you, then it’s worth buying sumac online. If you cook a lot of Alison’s recipes, then you’ll use it up quickly.
This is probably a no-brainer for most people, but it was a revelation for me. I’ve recently started buying bags of sesame seeds vs. tiny spice jars. I find that sesame seeds are much more affordable in bulk, and I go through them very quickly when cooking Alison’s recipes. I’ve found the bulk bags hidden on a bottom shelf in the spice aisle at Whole Foods, or in the back corner of the produce dept. at Cub Foods.
For those curious, of Alison’s appetizers that I’ve made thus far (I’ve cooked 10, and have 10 left to go), here are my top 3 favorites:
Creamy Goat Cheese with Lemony Za’atar
115 recipes cooked, 110 to go.
