Photo by Josh Steiner

That Spanish Cheesy Goat Looks All Fried…

By Josh Steiner
Contributing Writer

Welcome, lowly readers to the food porn part of the paper wherein I reside; today we will reach for the tapa, stop for a miel, turn your goat cheese Japanese and then find the perfect condiment trifecta.

Tapa the World Ma…
If you are anything like your humble narrator then you aren’t afraid to sit down and spend several hours in a tapas restaurant. While there you’ll likely explore course after course of Spanish charceuterie, cheeses, and ambitious dishes that you would be unlikely to make at home. Bocado, a tapas restaurant outside of Boston in Worcester, Massachusetts, is such a destination.  A Likely Place for a Good Miel…

Like many tapas restaurants, when visiting Bocado, “Queso De Cabra Con Miel” or “fried goat cheese with honey” are the only words you will need to utter (besides “bartender, can you please keep ‘em coming?”) to ensure a legit evening out.  Seriously, humble readers, I will not leave this restaurant without consuming this deliciously creamy, fried cheese. I am helpless to refrain from its embrace, and apparently I’m not the only one clutched in the delectable grip of Queso De Cabra.

According to bartender Jason and co-owner Steve ,almost every person who enters Bocado won’t leave without first consuming an order of this goat cheese. They went on to describe how the person in charge of prep often portions out hundreds a day because it is easily the most popular dish on their menu. I needed to know so I asked, “How does she make them?” and to my surprise they told me…Just Like American Food the Secret to Good, Fried Spanish Food is Japanese…

You will need: goat cheese sliced into a disk (about the thickness of a hockey puck), one beaten egg with a shot of water, 1/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup Panko Japanese bread crumbs, pickled sweet Italian peppers, honey, dollop of fruit jam (Bocado uses a quince paste, I used a plum jam but any flavor should work) a julienned, pickled, Italian sweet pepper and 1 baguette sliced for smearing.

Take your puck of goat cheese and coat with it the egg wash. Dip in the flour (shake off excess flour), dip back in the egg wash, then coat with Panko. Repeat those steps until you have completed your desired number of Panko coated cheese pucks and then refrigerate (we want this to be cold as possible before frying).  Meanwhile, let’s heat a pan to medium with enough oil to go about halfway up the side of your cheese puck.

Now that your oil is hot and your cheese is cold, it’s time to get fried.  Carefully lace your breaded cheese in the oil and fry until golden brown; this happens real quick, astute readers, so don’t wander off. Once it browns on the first side, using a pair of tongs, carefully flip onto the other side.  The second side will brown even quicker than the first, so again, don’t go any further away from the stove than you can reach.  When it browns up, pick up those tongs again,  carefully remove, and then drizzle a lil’ honey over the top.  What’s next? The best part… Serve, eat, and repeat.

Personally, I like to smear a lil’ bit of the cheese onto a baguette, add a lil’ smear of jam and top with pickled peppers.  I trust you’ll find that the sweetness of the jelly contrasts nicely with the savory, creamy cheese, and the acidity in the peppers help cut through the fat in the cheese.  A better trifecta for placement on a baguette will never be found.  That’s it… Easy, delicious and far cheaper than going to Massachusetts.

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[EDITOR’S NOTE] Joshua Steiner has worked in restaurants and kitchens for most of his life and held just about every conceivable job in the industry. Now he’s bringing his tips, tricks and travels to The High Plains Reader and @thepeoplespressproject.org for you to use in YOUR kitchen.