Welcome to our Wizard of Earthsea menu! I wanted to start the Earthsea series for years, and a few months ago I finally got around to it. It felt a little slow at first, though this may be due to the fact I read it as an audiobook and wasn’t in love with the narration style. However, I stuck with it, and around chapter 5 things REALLY picked up. Forbidden magic, shadow monsters, dragons—I was hooked!

I wanted to start off our menu with a nod to one of my favorite characters: Ogion, the reclusive wizard who lives deep in the wilderness and acts as Ged’s first master. His gentle guidance and wisdom are a great foil to the rashness of Ged’s youth. Since Ogion loves his goats and has been known to serve cheese to his rare visitors, I loved the idea of making a goat cheese appetizer. I hunted through Pinterest for inspiration and came across this recipe for fried goat cheese balls with honey. It sounded just right for Ogion, so I whipped up a batch with a couple changes to make it my own: I mixed chopped basil into the cheese for a bit of freshness and swapped out the original Honey Bunches of Oats coating for panko crumbs. You can definitely try the cereal coating if you want (it sounds delicious!); I just felt like a simple bread crumb was more in keeping with Ogion’s humble home.

I know goat cheese isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and fried goat cheese with honey may sound a little odd, but oh my gosh, guys. The FLAVORS. There’s a bit of tang from the cheese balanced with just the right amount of freshness and sweetness from the basil and honey. You get two different textures too: the crisp outer panko layer and the creamy inner cheese. The flavors and textures all come together to make a perfectly balance bite that, despite having so many distinct components, feels simple and fresh.

So even if you’re not big on goat cheese, I recommend giving this one a try. I DEFINITELY think Ogion would approve. 🙂

A

Ogion’s Fried Basil Goat Cheese Bites with Honey

He got up, and built up the fire to a good blaze, and hung the kettle over it to boil, and then pulling on his sheepskin coat said, “I must go look after my goats. Watch the kettle for me, lad.”

— A Wizard of Earthsea

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 oz goat cheese
• 6-8 medium basil leaves
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 egg whites, whisked until frothy
• 1/2 cup panko crumbs
• vegetable oil
• honey

 

Makes 16 goat cheese bites

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place your goat cheese in a small bowl. Layer your basil leaves on top of each other, roll them into a tight tube, and cut the tube widthwise to create strips. Coarsely chop the strips into pieces. Mix the basil into the cheese. Form the cheese into balls that are a little over 1″ wide (mine were about 1 1/8″).
   
2. Add oil to a medium-sized pot until the oil reaches about 1″ deep (enough to just cover the balls). Heat on low until you see sizzling when you throw in a pinch of panko crumbs. While you wait, place your egg whites, cornstarch, and panko in separate small bowls.
3. When the oil is ready, roll your first 3-4 balls in cornstarch, then coat in egg white and panko. Fry for 2 minutes until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate to dry.

   

4. Drizzle with honey and serve warm to your wise old mentor in his hut in the woods.
   

 

Check out my other goat cheese recipes!

Shepherd Book’s Stuffed Strawberries from Firefly

Amity’s Autumn Apple Salad from Divergent