The working week is a bit chaotic that we often end up working late, eating out or making quick dishes that can be thrown together such as a classic Leek and Spinach Spaghetti Carbonara or a Pad Thai. And so I find that the weekends are perfect for spending a little more time in the kitchen and enjoying good food. While I try and keep my freezer stocked up with mid-week leftovers such as a Classic Chilli Con Carne, ready to warm up after a long day, the evenings are still so short that finding the time to cook a nice meal is difficult. I love to experiment in the kitchen and create new recipes and flavours and the weekend is the perfect time to do so.
This Goats Cheese Wrapped in Parma Ham with Crushed Hazelnuts and Caramelised Onions is the perfect weekend treat. It doesn’t take long to prepare, making it a perfect starter or light lunch. A delectable combination of crunchy, salty, sweet and creamy is abosolute heaven! I lightly pan-fry the goats cheese in parma ham to give it that crispy texture wrapped around the lightly soft and melting goats cheese. The crushed hazelnuts add a little crunch and the caramelised onions give it a little sweet kick. I serve this with some lambs lettuce that has a light and nutty flavour and then add a final drizzle of olive oil.
- 4 slices of goats cheese
- 4 slices of parma ham
- Handful of hazelnuts
- 4 small shallots (peeled and finely sliced)
- 1 tspn sugar
- 2 tbpsn balsamic vinegar
- Juice of half a lemon
- Lambs lettuce
- Salt, Pepper
- Olive oil
- In a small saucepan add the shallots with a dash of olive oil and put on a gentle head. Add the sugar and balsamic vinegar and continue to cook on a gentle heat, stirring regularly, for around 20 mins until the vinegar has dissolved. Squeeze in some lemon juice and season with some salt and pepper and leave to one side to cool.
- Wrap each slice of parma ham around each slice of goats cheese. Heat a frying pan with a dash of olive oil and cook on each side for 1-2 mins. Season with some pepper.
- Plate up some lambs lettuce on each plate and add the goats cheese wrapped in parma ham. Scatter the crushed hazelnuts over the plate and then add a spoonful of the caramelised onions. Lightly drizzle some olive oil over the plate and serve.
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