Chevre Cream with Honey Gelee

This experimentation originated with the Ile de France recipe competition. I wanted something that could end a meal in a novel manner and would satisfy both a cheese-lover and a dessert-lover at the same time.

The outcome was a gently sweetened chevre cream, matched to a honey gelee. It's the kind of make-ahead dish I've come to appreciate when I'm preparing a dinner party for friends. The gelee and the chevre cream will keep separately for several days in the fridge, which means you can get dessert ready well in advance of your other courses. It gives me great peace of mind to know one course can be ready for the table within a few minutes of assembly.

There is also something playful about offering a jelly as the end of the meal. As a child, I thought jelly was a wonderful substance. I still do, but I prefer more subtle versions these days, with more variety in the flavoring elements. Think coconut milk or Earl Grey tea or gin and tonic gelees....

Extra experimentation is up to you.


Chevre Cream with Honey Gelee
(8 diminutive portions)

1 1/2 tsp. (1 envelope) unflavored gelatin
2/3 cup honey
4 c plain greek yogurt
3 oz fresh goat cheese (chevre), at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
cinnamon, for serving

Put the gelatin in a small saucepan and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of water over it. Let this sit for 5 minutes, to soften the gelatin. Add honey and 1/3 cup the water. Bring this all to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and stir until the gelatin dissolves and the honey is amalgamated.

Pour this mixture into an 8" square baking pan and chill until set. About 2-3 hours. Meanwhile, you'll want to strain the yogurt if what you have isn't already thickened to the consistency of heavily whipped cream. You can omit this step if you're using Greek yogurt.

Combine the chevre, yogurt and sugar in a small bowl, and set aside until ready for serving. Bring to room temperature if you're planning to store this in the fridge for any period of time.

To serve, use a sharp knife to cut the gelee into 1" diamonds or squares (or stars, if you're feeling artistic). Dollop some chevre on the center of each plate, top with one or two pieces of the gelee, and dust with cinnamon.

Down Time

Lemon.Zest will be on break for a while. Please continue to enjoy the recipes here, and feel free to comment or add suggestions. I appreciate the feedback and encouragement you have given me.

Sincerely,
DB

Soup for Wintery Contemplations (Pea Soup)

My life has undergone some big changes recently. In reaction to this, I found myself pouring through my recipe file to rediscover the lost loves of cooking. Here were the recipes that used to appear at the table on a regular basis. The salads, soups, tapas and little bites of many yesterdays past. That night I found the recipe card for my beloved Pea Soup, wrote myself a grocery list, and planned a return to form.

If you've not had a split pea soup before, I can hardly pitch it to you on the idea of nostalgia. Instead, I offer it to you as a simple recipe that uses many ingredients common to other soups (so you can make several soups from the groceries you'll buy for this one). What I loved about this soup in the first place was its homeliness. As Nigella Lawson once wrote,

"We need to make the most of what warmth is offered, and much of the time this needs to emanate from the kitchen rather than from the skies outside."

Soup-making is a direct expression of this. It's a way to bring the warmth of August into the frail days of November, and, for me, it's a way to bring the consistency of the past into the uncertainty of the present.

Pea soup
(makes 4 servings)

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 leek, sliced
1 sprig thyme
4 cups water
2 cupsl vegetable stock
1 cup (350 g) split peas, soaked for 1 hour and drained

To serve:
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
pesto

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan. Add the onion and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add celery, carrot, leek and thyme and cook until softened. Add the water, stock and peas to the pan and cook for 1 1/2 hours or until peas are soft.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in warm bowls, with a dollop of pesto in the middle. Add a crisp green salad and some crusty bread to round out the meal.