Marinated Havarti Cheese

with Tarragon & Dill

Years and years ago, my friend Justine from Full Belly Sisters posted her recipe for marinated cheese. I was intrigued by the recipe and I wanted to try it, but it took me a while before I actually did. I decided, one year, to give my coworkers on my team all a jar of marinated cheese for Christmas. Marinated feta was my first try at marinated cheese. And then, after they raved about it, I served it at our annual Wine & Design event, as a fruit & cheese plate. I’ve also made it in some of my cooking classes. These marinated cheeses have become such a beautiful part of my cooking repertoire. I keep marinated feta on hand pretty much all the time because it’s so wonderful sprinkled over salads, fish, chicken, soup and roasted veggies.

Over the years, I’ve tried marinating several cheeses … Dubliner and Feta have been repeat favorites. It can be hit or miss with seasonings and cheeses. I have found you have to kind of match the seasonings to the cheese, although garlic, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes do go well with most soft cheeses. (Surprisingly, not cheddar. Cheddar wants something different …)

Anyway, this year for Wine & Design, I decided to try a couple new cheeses. I did some gouda (which was definitely marvelous!) and then I decided it was time to try marinating Havarti, a buttery soft Danish cheese that I have long been in love with.

Dill was a natural choice because they make Dill Havarti, so yeah duh, of course dill is going to work. But what else? I did a little trial jar with rosemary and that did not seem right. So I grabbed a couple sprigs of tarragon from my crazy tarragon pot and yes, that tasted right!

With all the cheeses I have marinating right now, I have been looking for new ways to use these lovelies, so I have a couple new recipes coming your way featuring marinated cheeses. You might want to get your marinades started … just sayin’

Marinated Havarti Cheese with Tarragon & Dill

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
• Yield: as much as you like!

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Ingredients

• Havarti Cheese, cut into small chunks
• Fresh garlic cloves
• Dried dill weed (or fresh snipped dill leaves)
• Fresh tarragon
• Italian Seasoning
• Red pepper flakes
• Extra virgin olive oil

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Instructions

1. Get some small wide-mouthed jars. Peel the garlic cloves and smash them with the side of your knife to release the flavor. Place a clove of garlic in each jar.
2. Cover the bottom of the jar with a single layer of cheese cubes. Sprinkle with the seasonings and add a sprig of tarragon.
3. Add another layer of cheese cubes. Sprinkle again with the herbs and the pepper flakes. Continue layering, adding another sprig of tarragon and a clove or two of garlic sometime in the process.
4. Once the jar is full of cheese cubes, pour olive oil over to fill the jar. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 2 – 3 hours to let the flavors blend, then serve with toothpicks and crackers … or put the jars in the fridge for later.

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Notes

Olive oil will solidify when refrigerated. Remove from the fridge and let sit at room temperature 30 – 60 minutes before serving time to let the olive oil “melt”.

The FDA recommends storing oil with raw garlic in the fridge for no more than a week. For safety, store your marinated cheese in the freezer if you want to keep it more than a week. Other options are to saute the garlic before adding it or use freeze dried minced garlic.

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

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