Goat Cheese Chevre Recipe (2024)

And a review of Home Cooked by Anya Fernald

Homemade goat cheese, grass fed beef and lamb, and fresh seasonal vegetables and fruit, these are the ingredients that make for wholesome meals. I’ve been reading Homecooked, essential recipes for a new way to cook by Anya Fernald. It’s one of those cookbooks with personal stories sprinkled liberally between the recipes. The kind of cookbook I like best.

Goat Cheese Chevre Recipe (1)

Fernald is the CEO of Belcampo, a meat company and restaurant business with locations in California and Belize. The book celebrates the slow food, full fat, meaty lifestyle, with French Fries cooked in tallow, ravioli fried in canola oil, and raw beef cruda that’s served cold with olive oil. (Yes, you read that right. I did say, “raw”.)

The recipes are homecooked (or not) with attitude. Not the usual slow cooker and instapot fare that busy homemakers lean toward, these recipes will have you wondering if a chef wrote the cookbook, rather than a real homecook Recipes like seared quail and herb salad, beer braised rabbit with shallots, olive oil poached salmon, and pound cake made with lard are just some of the unusual recipes, all made with whole food ingredients.

Fernald was influenced in her cooking by her time spent in Europe in jobs related to the slow food movement and small scale food producers. Her recipes are a little unusual for a home cooking cookbook. The illustrations show her in a meat cooler with dozens of beef carcasses, working with 5 gallon pails of sheep cheese, standing over a dessert spread for at least a dozen people. The recipes take a fair amount of time to prepare. Some of them begin with making cheese from milk and pasta from flour and eggs. But for weekend cooking or special events, these recipes are full of inspiration.

Goat Cheese Chevre Recipe (2)

Fernald is a talented and innovative cook. The breadth of the recipes move from elaborate appetizers and predinner co*cktails through the main course to very simple desserts. However, it’s in the meat dishes and the vegetable sides that this cookbook really shines. If you bought that side of beef or full carcass of lamb from your local grass-fed farm, and you’re left with a lot of brown paper wrapped packages that you aren’t sure how to cook, this book will inspire you. If you are still buying your meat and vegetables at the grocery store, and found meat or frozen food in your freezer from the last lysteria scare, this isn’t your cookbook.

Goat Cheese Chevre Recipe (3)

One recipe in Home Cooked, “Fromagetto” makes one pound of cream cheese. While Fernald’s recipe call’s for cow’s milk, it is very similiar to my personal fresh goat cheese recipe. So let me share my Chevre recipe here. If you prefer to make it with cow’s milk, you’ll be making Fernald’s Fromagetto cheese.

Chevre

(similiar to the Fromagetto recipe in Home Cooked, p. 56)

This is a soft goat cheese that is cubed in salads or spread on crackers. It’s served in fancy restaurants as an appetizer. But if you make your own it will taste a thousand times better than any that you find in restaurants or grocery stores.

Yield 1 lb of creamy cheese

Ingredients:

1 gallon of fresh goat’s mik

1/2 cup of kefir

1/4 tsp of rennet + 1/4 cup water (see instructions)

1 tsp. Celtic salt

Goat Cheese Chevre Recipe (4)

Method:

In a stainless steel pail, with a lid, place milk and kefir. Stir together. In a separate cup mix the rennet with the water. Remove just 2 tablespoons of the diluted rennet and add to the milk-kefir mixture. Discard the remaining rennet. Stir the milk well to fully integrate the rennet into the milk. Cover and allow the pail of mik to sit for 12 hours, undisturbed, in a cool spot.

Goat Cheese Chevre Recipe (5)

Break the curd and allow the curd to settle in the pan. Line a colander with a heavy cheese cloth or tightly woven diaper (reserved for cheese making) and set it over a bowl to catch the whey. Reserve the whey for making ricotta cheese. Spoon the curd into the lined colander or into prepared couer la creme cheese molds. Every third scoop of cheese, sprinkle the curds with a little salt. Once all the curds are in the colander or the molds, cover with the cheese cloth and allow this to drain for 4 hours, or until it stops dripping.

Unmold the Couer la Creme molds or remove the chevre from the cloth into a wide mouth 2 cup mason jar. Serve as you would cream cheese or other fresh cheese. It should be eaten within 7 days. If you want to preserve it longer, wrap it in plastic wrap and store it in the freezer. It will keep for 3 to 5 months in the freezer.

Goat Cheese Chevre Recipe (6)

Serve on bagels, toast, crackers, or cube it and toss with a salad

And while you are waiting for your cheese to drain, grab a cup of herbal tea, and the cookbook, Home Cooked, essential recipes for a new way to cook, and enjoy the slower pace of a slow food lunch, while you peruse the stories and the recipes in Fernald’s debut book.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I received a review copy of Home Cooked from Blogging for Books. As always, this review represents my honest opinion of the book.

Goat Cheese Chevre Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between chevre and goat cheese? ›

It sure is! “Chevre” means both “goat” and “goat cheese” in French and is frequently used to refer to fresh goat cheeses in particular. Fresh goat cheese, or chevre, is bright, tart, tangy, and delicious, but goat cheese comes in all shapes, sizes, and ages.

How do you eat chevre goat cheese? ›

Goat cheese has a rich, tangy flavor that makes it a delicious, creamy addition to so many recipes. Whether you're adding it to pizza and pasta sauces, spreading it on toast, stuffing it into baked chicken and turkey, or sprinkling it over salads, there are countless ways to use this delicious ingredient.

Is chevre goat cheese healthy? ›

A serving of goat cheese delivers 6 grams of filling protein along with a powerful combination of calcium, phosphorus and copper — nutrients that are essential for healthy bones ( 2 ). Plus, goat cheese provides healthy fats, including medium-chain fatty acids, that can improve satiety and benefit weight loss ( 3 ).

How long does homemade chevre last in fridge? ›

Storing cheese for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator

By adopting good wrapping and storage habits, your cheese could last for 2 to 3 weeks, and it will be more hygienic and taste better.

Does chevre goat cheese melt? ›

Creamy goat's cheese is delicious in salads, bread, and pizzas. Although it will soften when exposed to heat, chevre does not melt as other cheeses do. It will add delicious moments of cheesy goodness to any dish it is melted onto.

What is the English name for chevre? ›

noun. nanny goat [noun] a female goat. goat [noun] an animal of the sheep family, with horns and a long-haired coat.

Does chevre need to be refrigerated? ›

Soft cheeses such as cream cheese, cottage cheese, shredded cheeses, and goat cheese must be refrigerated for safety.

How long does chevre goat cheese last? ›

Goat cheese can be stored packaged in the refrigerator for up to 3 months and unpacked for 2 to 3 weeks. The Best By date (MMDDYY) is estimated for your convenience on each cheese.

How long does fresh chevre last? ›

Most goat cheese is chevré, which is a fresh cheese that has not been aged. It lasts about a week. Aged, hard cheeses are designed to last longer than fresh cheeses.

Is goat cheese anti inflammatory? ›

Many of the microorganisms present in goat milk cheese, yoghurt and other byproducts are beneficial to human health. In addition to their anti-inflammatory action, they promote positive effects on intestinal functions.

Is goat cheese good for your gut? ›

Goat cheese is full of beneficial probiotics, a healthy kind of bacteria. Probiotics colonize the intestines and compete with any unhealthy bacteria or pathogens that they find there. This can improve the effectiveness of your immune system and reduce your vulnerability to illness.

Is goat cheese bad for your cholesterol? ›

You don't have to take cheese out completely, but choose alternatives. Goat cheese, parmesan, and blue cheese are lower in cholesterol. Or go for the low-fat options.

Can you freeze fresh chevre? ›

Not to worry! It will change texture slightly but it will still be great in recipes like the ones below. When you freeze your cheese, wrap it carefully in waxed paper or plastic wrap and put it in a freezer bag. Plan to use it within a few months.

What vegetable is rennet? ›

What is vegetable rennet? Vegetable rennet is made from plant enzymes that have coagulating properties. Vegetable rennet may be produced with plants such as thistle, artichokes, and nettles, but other plants like ground ivy, dried caper leaves, and fig juice have also been known to serve as coagulants.

Is it OK to leave goat cheese out overnight? ›

For the best taste and quality, cheese should not be left out for longer than two hours at room temperature.

What is the fancy name for goat cheese? ›

Goat cheese, or chèvre in French, is a highly versatile cheese.

What is goat cheese called in the grocery store? ›

The term “goat cheese” is often synonymous with chèvre cheese, the fresh, rindless logs of goat cheese that may be found everywhere from your grocery store dairy department to artisanal cheese shops and farmers' markets.

What's the difference between goat feta and chèvre? ›

If we are talking about a fresh goat cheese, or chèvre, then the main difference would be that feta is usually submerged in some kind of brine and chèvre is not,” she says. While goat's milk is used in a range of cheese styles, the style of chèvre most often found in the U.S. is a soft, fresh version.

What is the French name for goat cheese? ›

Goat cheese, goat's cheese or chèvre (/ˈʃɛvrə/ or /ˈʃɛv/; from the French fromage de chèvre, lit. 'goat cheese') is cheese made from goat's milk.

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