A good cheese board is about balancing flavors and textures. This goat cheese log is basically a cheese board rolled (literally) into one tidy, delicious and aesthetically pleasing dish! These flavors right here, are what I am made for! Tangy, creamy goat cheese with crunchy, buttery pistachios and sweet, chewy dried cherries. The whole thing is kissed with some subtle orange and black pepper notes. It’s all the best things!
This makes a great appetizer for the holidays. The colors are festive and it’s definitely giving off a ‘party’ vibe. It’s elegant and makes for good grazing with a nice glass of wine!
Here’s what you need.
I forget how easy this to throw together! There is zero cooking required here! Zero! And, the whole thing comes together in about 15 minutes.
Chop by hand or use a food processor.
I’ve made this both ways and it turned out perfectly each time. Chopping the fruit and nuts by hand did make me feel like I was a bit more in control, yet doing it in the food processor was slightly quicker. So do whichever you prefer.
If going with the food processor method, add the cherries first because they take longer to break up than the pistachios. Chop them on ‘high’ for 30 seconds. Then add the nuts, orange zest, salt and pepper and pulse until the pistachios are chopped.
If you are doing it by hand, chop the nuts and fruit to equal sized pieces, then add the zest, salt and pepper and mix well.
Pour the mixture onto a wide plate.
The goat cheese must be cold before rolling.
This is a must. Room temperature goat cheese is very soft and you will end up with a dip instead of a log. That’s not necessary a bad thing but not what we are going for here.
Place the cheese log directly on the bed of chopped cherries and pistachios and start rolling. Apply gentle pressure so the crust sticks, though try not to push so hard that the bits of nuts and fruit are completely absorbed by the cheese.
Roll the goat cheese until well coated.
The entire log should be covered with a thick layer of the crust. Any leftover topping can be served on the side.
Serve with crackers, toast points and honey.
Balsamic glaze is delicious here as well! If you don’t want to do crackers or toast points, sturdy slices of apple make a delicious alternate vessel.
This can be made 1 or 2 days in advance and kept refrigerated. Leave it out for about a half hour before serving to soften the cheese a bit for easier serving!
Other recipes to try:
Pistachio and Cherry Crusted Goat Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 ounces goat cheese cold
- 1/2 cup roasted and salted pistachios
- 1/2 cup dried sweet cherries
- 1/2 tsp fresh grated orange zest
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt
- fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Chop the cherries and pistachios by hand then mix with the orange zest, salt and pepper, OR chop the cherries in a food processor for 30 seconds, then add the pistachios, zest, salt and pepper and pulse until the pistachios are well chopped and the topping is well combined. Pour the crust into a wide plate. Place the cold goat cheese log onto the crust mixture and roll, using gentle pressure until the entire log is coated. Serve with crackers, toast points and honey