Salade de chèvre chaud — warm goat cheese toasts and greens
Salade de chèvre chaud depends on contrast: cold dressed leaves underneath and small hot toasts of softened goat cheese on top. The cheese should warm and colour lightly without turning the plate into a bowl of melted dairy. Eight measured baguette slices each carry 30 g of pasteurised French goat's-milk log, giving two toasts per serving. Using a plain bûche de chèvre-style cheese keeps the preparation recognisably French while avoiding a claim that the cheese is a protected raw-milk Chavignol.
The salad itself is intentionally restrained. Tender mixed leaves are washed, dried and kept cold, while a sharp dressing of olive oil, white wine vinegar and Dijon mustard is whisked separately. Water on the leaves is the main enemy: it dilutes the vinaigrette and makes the greens slippery rather than lightly coated. The dressing is added only when the toasts are ready, so the leaves retain enough crispness to support the warm bread.
The toasts spend only about five minutes under a high oven grill. That is enough for the bread edges to crisp and for the goat cheese to soften and take a little colour, but the window between golden and scorched is short. Watch continuously rather than relying only on the timer. Once the leaves are dressed, plate quickly and set the hot toasts on top rather than burying them. The assembled salad is at its best immediately and does not benefit from reheating as a whole.
