French Bistro Salad With Warm Goat Cheese Croutes

Goat cheese salad is a classic French bistro dish that is easy to make at home. The salad combines fresh, tender lettuce with warmed goat cheese rounds. The cheese is rolled in panko (or breadcrumbs) and then heated to form an outer crunchy layer, creating goat cheese croutes. It's topped off with a mustard vinegarette dressing. The kick from the mustard provides a contrast to the creamy tang of the goat cheese. Feel free to mix fresh herbs such as dill, basil, or chervil in with the lettuce for some bright flavors.

This recipe includes two different ways to prepare the goat cheese croutes—in the oven or on the stove. Both methods use the same ingredients, and the result will be basically the same. The oven method is more hands-off, while the stove method requires some careful attention as the goat cheese croutes cook in a frying pan.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces goat cheese log (fresh chèvre-style goat cheese)
• 1/2 cup panko or bread crumbs (chilled)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 6 cups lettuce (tender lettuces such as spring mix, butter lettuce, or oak leaf lettuce)
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon good quality red wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1 dash fine sea salt
• 1 dash freshly ground
• black pepper