Puna Goat Cheese and Tomato Salad with Chile-Lemongrass Dressing

From 'Alan Wong's New Wave Luau'
by Alan Wong with John Harrison (Ten Speed Press)

April 26, 2000
Web posted at: 12:05 p.m. EDT (1605 GMT)

Makes 4 servings

For Dressing:

• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 cup Yamasa soy sauce or other brand
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
• 1 minced Hawaiian chile or red serrano chile
• 1/4 cup minced lemongrass
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic

To prepare dressing: Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

For Salad:

• 4 ounces Puna goat cheese or other good-quality mild chevre
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• Salt and white pepper to taste
• 16 haricots verts (thin French green beans)
• 4 (5-ounce) tomatoes
• 1/2 small sweet Maui onion (or other sweet onion), sliced
• 2 teaspoons black sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup Chile-Lemongrass Dressing
• 1 orange, peeled, pith removed and separated into sections
• 20 mizuna lettuce or arugula leaves, for garnish

To prepare salad: In a bowl, season the goat cheese and garlic with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until needed.

In a saucepan of boiling water, blanch the haricots verts for 2 minutes. Drain and halve.

Core the tomatoes. Using a very sharp knife, slice the tomatoes lengthwise as thinly as possible. To assemble the salads, carefully and gently fan the tomato slices so they overlap and form a circle on each plate. Place the haricots verts and onion in the center of each circle.

Using two large spoons, shape the cheese mixture into 4 oval shapes. Roll the top of each cheese ball in 1/2 teaspoon of the sesame seeds so they adhere in a strip. Carefully place the cheese on top of the haricots verts and onion. Drizzle with Chile-Lemongrass Dressing. Arrange the orange sections on either side of the cheese. Garnish with the mizuna or arugula.

Reprinted with permission from Alan Wong's New Wave Luau by Alan Wong with John Harrisson. Photography credit: Danna Martel. Copyright © 1999. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, California.

Lemongrass -- Aromatic herb adds delicate lemony perfume to food
April 26, 2000
Surf through some of the best in Hawaiian cuisine
March 22, 1999

Alan Wong's Restaurant
Ten Speed Press

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.