A tale of goats, goats cheese and a fussy eater.

Goats cheese, goats and I have had, how can I put this...a some-what turbulent relationship. Those who managed to get a glimpse of the goat and my peanut butter incident, on the edge of a cliff in China, will understand what I mean by my unfortunate relationship with the goats. Too painful to draw upon again but mentioned in my first post.It may have been this fellow.

During my younger years whilst my food loving sisters, who now I understand have fine taste, could gorge on goats cheese like I could  cheddar or occasionally daringly red Leicester – goats cheese never seemed to tickle my fancy. In fact I recall the first time I encountered goats cheese. My chef like older sister Patsy had made  goats cheese topped with caramelised red onions on a beautiful piece of fresh and crisp bread. I was torn as onions were and still are, my one true love. Growing up I would eat onions as one would a delicious apple. On this subject, I  decided to look deeper into my onion obsession on the World Wide Web to see if there was a deeper explanation . According to one source, ‘urban dictionary’ there is a whole group of people called onion people who live on another planet as aliens. As for a deeper meaning there isn’t one.

So with the picture and smell of sweet onions enticing me towards the dish I decided that I would try it. Anything with onions for me, is like ketchup and yoghurt for others- complete.  When I took my first bite I was sickened by the crumbly texture. However, something  more significant and one thing that didn’t leave me for a long time was the smell. ‘ It smells like a farm’, I would claim, which would be met by,’ Just try it’. ‘ OK, now it tastes like a farm’and after taking about 3 minutes to finish a mouthful I went back to my loyal chicken. The one I could  count on. I knew I was a fusspot about food but it was one of those situations. The ones where you ate what you loved so you would never be left feeling disappointed. Every time goats cheese would rear its ,then, ugly head I would: moan and groan, refuse to sit next to any suspects who chose the cheese and demanded that  all the windows be opened so  the  farm smell left the house. Did I mention this was at the age of sixteen and not three. Of course my mother was not pleased by my reaction and told me to open the windows myself -which I did and then sat down shamefully as I had won the prize for acting like the biggest spoilsport in the house.

However, in my twenties and particularly after university, working in China and travelling around South East Asia my taste buds began to change. Perhaps they had been through the moody adolescent stage and were trying to develop into a more mature and sophisticated pallet. Of course, goats cheese was not easy to come by in China. In fact my fellow China troop will agree any cheese was our treat of the year- or we’d have to spend the equivalent of about £6 on the cheese which could easily cover the weekly expenditure of meals. However,  the sheer fact that there was the lack of availability of foods I loved forced me to change my fussy habits. Luckily mummy Ahuja had me covered for an entire 5 years with tea bags.  The things I quickly realised I would have to kiss goodbye to for the year were: cheese, chocolate,hot chocolate, digestives , salt and vinegar crisps, fresh milk and meat I could identify.  

At first I began to lose a lot of weight purely due the fact that there were no knives and forks in sight. Adjusting to the chopsticks meant for the first 2 weeks I was eating the equivalent of half a meal a day. Sometimes four extra peanuts as a treat. I would normally just use my hands, coming from an Indian background, however I did not want my new peers to think I was a strange one so I persevered with the chopsticks.  I gradually got used to my two new best friends and used ying and yang to bring me harmony and a full stomach. Then, the novelty of Chinese food started to wear off and I began missing my home cooked Indian food, pies and pastas. 


Nevertheless, China is the kind of place where you cannot complain and have to suck it up, starve or pay premium prices for mediocre western food. So my pallet and mind became accustomed to trying new dishes and starting again, as a child would, to establish which dishes I liked and could eat more regularly. I must say, I don’t think I could eat anymore Chinese food or even think about ordering a take away because it just won’t be the same. The street food, even though not the most hygienic option was the cheapest and definitely by far the most delicious.

So suddenly, as my taste in food began to change after experimenting in China and tasting the delights of Cambodia, Laos and particularly Malaysia I came to Spain. I was greeted with a  beautifully equipped kitchen and decided to take on the challenge of the goats cheese. I was determined to love it as it would be more of an incentive to be part of the cool sister group. They are extremely cool and as mentioned above have the most amazing taste in food.

So I began by buying it and adding  it to my salads.  I found It worked really well with a green lentils, chopped tomatoes, red onions and a generous dashing of balsamic glaze. This soon became my staple dish. I then began to fall in love with it. It became my cheddar. In fact I don’t remember the last time I bought cheddar. So my hate of the goats cheese diminished and we have  become fine friends.

On that note I have decided to share with you a recipe I recently tried from my trusty,’Tapas  De ayer y de hoy’. Rollitos de pimiento con queso y Limon- Little rolled up red peppers with cheese and lemon / pepper nuggets. Quite the gourmet dish. Of course the star of today’s recipe is my very fond friend:  goats cheese.

Ingredients (to serve four hungry people):

·         2 big red peppers

·         4 spoons of olive oil

·         ½  lemon- rind and juice

·         175g of goats cheese

·         2 sprigs of Oregano (fresh ) /1 tablespoon of Oregano (dried)

·         Black pepper

1. To begin, deseed the red pepper and take the green hat off too. Wash the pepper and then cut it into half. Cut into half again (lengthwise) and keep going until you have long stips of pepper.

 2. Heat three tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and add the peppers. Cook them on a slow heat for around ten minutes until they are completely cooked. Keep them in a hot pan.

3. Whilst waiting for the peppers, wash a lemon, grate the skin and extract its juice.

4. Crumble the goats cheese and mix it with one table spoon of olive oil. Add the lemon’s rind and some of the lemon juice to the mixture. Next add the oregano, some salt, more of the lemon juice and pepper in abundance.

5. Drain the peppers of any excess juices or oil and spread the goats cheese and lemon mixture amongst the pepper slices. Once you have done this the fun begins! Take the pepper slices and  roll them as you would a rollie pollie pudding. Fasten it with a little cocktail stick.

6. Leave them to rest for at least one hour before serving.

I would recommend them as a little nibbler with drinks (tapas) or as one of your starters. The tangy taste of  goat cheese mixed with lemon and pepper is complimented by the sweetness of the red pepper. An excellent combination and a must for those who want to get to know the possibilities of goats cheese better.