Herbed Goat Cheese in a Weck Jar

Lately at Cassandra’s Kitchen we spend every spare moment pouring over the recipes in Cooking for Jeffrey. The response to the book has been tremendous and we’ve done our best to stock cookware, tableware, and products that Ina uses and features in the book. This week we wanted to highlight the Weck Canning Jar that Ina uses for her Herbed Goat Cheese. (The jars are available here.)

Ina prefers the Weck jar because the goat cheese disks fit perfectly. She also suggests using the jar to store asparagus upright – who knew! German-made Weck jars have been used in canning and food storage for over 100 years. The jar has a wide mouth with a tapered bottom, so it's easy to fill AND stackable for storage. The airtight rubber seal makes it ideal for preserving foods and the perfect choice for storing dry ingredients. When the seal on the jar is intact and airtight, the tab on the rubber ring will face downward. The clamps can then be removed and reused.

Plus, these jars just look good. I’ve actually never canned or preserved any type of food, but the Weck jars make me think I should try! I’m going to start with the Herbed Goat Cheese and go from there…

--Cassandra

Herbed Goat Cheese

Ingredients

2 – (6-ounce) Creamy goat cheese disks, such as Coach Farms
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Minced fresh dill
Julienned fresh basil leaves
Crushed red pepper flakes
Good olive oil (Olio Santo)
Bread or crackers, for severing

Directions

Find a small, wide-mouth canning jar or small glass vase (3½ inches in diameter by 4 inches high), just large enough to hold the two goat cheeses on top of each other with a little room to spare. Cut each cheese in half horizontally, making two rounds from each. (A piece of dental floss makes this easier.)

Place half of the first disk flat in the jar, sprinkle with the salt and pepper, then with the ½ teaspoon dill, 1 teaspoon basil, and a few red pepper flakes, and drizzle with ½ tablespoon olive oil. Place another disk of cheese on top and repeat the seasonings, herbs, and oil. Continue with the remaining cheese disks, piling one on top of the other with oil and seasonings in between. When all the disks are stacked and seasoned, drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil on top. Cover and set aside at room temperature for one hour or refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Serve at room temperature with bread or crackers for people to help themselves.