Appetizer: Fried Sage Leaves with a Sage Flower & Herb Goat Cheese

This appetizer might sound a little weird but they are actually really good. I planted way too much sage this past spring and I feel like I don't use as much sage as I would like in my cooking. The sage also sprouted little purple flowers that I thought might be a nice touch to some herbed goat cheese. So here is a great way to use up a big chunk of that sage in your herb garden. (I found this fried sage recipe here).

Fried Sage Leaves:

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. cold water
10-12 big sage leaves or about 30 small ones
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil for frying
sea salt

Wash the leaves and dry them on a kitchen towel. Whisk the water into sifted flour and mix until the batter becomes smooth. Warm up the oil in a nonstick skillet. Dip the leaves in the batter and let the extra batter drip off. Fry the sage leaves on one side until crispy and light golden and then fry them on the other side. Place them on a paper towel and sprinkle them with a little bit of salt. Serve warm.

Sage Flower and Herb Goat Cheese Log:

1 Silver Goat Chevre Goat Cheese Log

1/4 cup sage flowers (picked from the bud), finely chopped

1 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped

1 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped

1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

2 tbsp lemon zest

1 tsp pepper

Chop up the herbs and flowers and mix together with the lemon zest and pepper. Spread the mixture out onto a flat surface (cutting board works). Roll the cheese log in the herb mixture until the entire log has been evenly coated. Place the cheese log onto a platter with a spreading knife. Serve with the warm fried sage leaves by neatly arranging them around the cheese log. Add a few crostinis or crackers to the platter as well.

This cheese log was inspired by one my aunt Stacey used to make. You'll love it.