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Warm Goat Cheese Salad with Don's Duqqa
(Makes 4 servings)

You can take this salad in many different directions just by varying the salad ingredients according to what's good and fresh when you're making it. Because I developed this recipe in late spring, I've used fava beans and garlic scapes to garnish the salad.

Ingredients:

For the goat cheese:

• 125 grams fresh, soft goat cheese (chevre)
• 1 egg
• 4 tbsp. duqqa (Egyptian nut and spice mix) Available at Gourmet Warehouse, or check here for other locations.
• Olive oil for frying

For the salad:

• 6 cups firm salad greens, such as frisee or curly endive
• 1 cup fresh fava beans, blanched, refreshed in cold water and peeled (can substitute fresh green beans, cut into smallish lengths and blanched
• 2 garlic scapes, finely chopped (scapes are the tops of garlic plants which are chopped off in the spring to allow for better underground development of the bulbs) You can substitute chopped green onions

Toss all the salad ingredients together with some olive oil, sherry vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Divide onto 4 plates, saving some of the fava beans to scatter around the edge of the salad for garnish. (they should be a nice, bright green when blanched and peeled)

For the goat cheese:
In a small bowl, beat the egg, add the goat cheese and blend until smooth. Then add the duqqa and stir until it reaches a uniform consistency. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for 15 or 20 minutes to allow the cheese to set a bit. Heat a non-stick frypan, and add in a thin layer of olive oil. When the oil is hot, divide the cheese mixture into 4 dollops and gently fry in the pan until browned on both sides. Slide each cake of the goat cheese on top of the salad and serve immediately.