Photograph by Johnny Miller Food Styling by Maggie Ruggiero Prop Styling by Theo Vamvounakis
Bacon-Fried Walnut Cheeseball
Amuse-Bouche from Issue 7 – Summer 2015 – Spectrum
Lacking taste, style, or originality?
Not our cheeseballs.
Bacon-Fried Walnut Cheeseball
The cheeseball: Some say tacky, we say sublime. We rolled our orb in bacon-fried walnuts and paired it with pickled mushrooms.
serves 8 to 12
- 4 strips bacon
- 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 4 oz goat cheese, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup finely grated Parmesan
- 2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 1 Tbsp finely chopped chives
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ⅔ cup chopped walnuts
- crackers for serving
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1
Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp. Reserve bacon fat in a bowl. When cooled, finely chop bacon. Beat cream cheese and goat cheese together with a wooden spoon until creamy. Stir in crumbled bacon, Parmesan, herbs, and pepper. Transfer the mixture to a sheet of plastic wrap and, using the wrap to help, form into a ball. Chill at least 2 hours. Heat a small skillet with ½ Tbsp reserved bacon fat. Add nuts and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted. Transfer to a shallow bowl and cool. Roll cheeseball in nuts to evenly coat and chill. Let stand at room temp about 1 hour before serving.
