Seared Prosciutto and Goat Cheese Medallions
I have this divine friend who skipped the country and landed feet first in Great Britain. She loves all things british and she has an affinity for travel and good food. These are some of the things I love and appreciate most about her. That and the fact that we have been friends for actual decades at this point.
She always brings me great ideas about what to cook and eat next. I lived vicariously through her for the seven years she absorbed her European adventure, and took notes along the way.
Side note: Live in Europe if you can. Feel no shame if you can’t.
One of the dishes she brought to my attention was a medallion made from goat cheese and prosciutto that originated in the Netherlands. I love me some Dutchness, so I listened eagerly when she recounted her food excursions there. I took notes when she shared her love of spotted dick pudding (yeah, that’s real) and her disgust at pickled herring. I also took note of the different cuisines and asked her take her own notes to keep my foodie fuel supplied.
She did not disappoint.
One of the very best gems she brought to me were these goat cheese medallions. I couldn’t wait to try them. Originally, they were served on a bed of arugula. I tried that. It didn’t work so well for me. The richness of the goat cheese and salty fattiness of the prosciutto needed a denser vegetable to carry the richness, and some serious acid to cut it.
Enter Brussels sprouts. They are hearty enough to handle the goat cheese, and the thinly sliced lemons provide essential bright acid notes to make the fattiness of the dish enjoyable.
Ingredients:
8 slices proscuitto
1 log herbed goat cheese, sliced into 8 medallions
12 oz Brussels sprouts, shaved
1 lemon, halved
1 tangerine, segmentede
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Take your prosciutto and lay it flat on a cutting board. Slice it in half lengthwise. Take one goat cheese medallion and place it at the end of one half of the prosciutto slice. Roll it up. Do the same on the exposed side of the medallion with the other half of the medallion.
Confused? Watch this video tutorial for a great 30 second visual guide.
Slice 1/2 of your lemon very thinly. Think paper thin. Think thin enough to see through. Toss those lemon slices in with your shaved brussel sprouts and a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Sautee on medium high heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring only once. Squeeze other 1/2 of lemon over the sprouts.
Sear on each side in a lightly oiled hot pan for about a minute. Remove from pan and serve on top of Brussels sprouts and segmented tangerine. Drizzle some balsamic vinegar over that and call it done.
