Recipe: Herb-marinated goat cheese with little rosemary fougasses

Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes, plus 4 hours marinating and 3 hours rising

Servings: 8

Cheese

4 (4-ounce) logs goat cheese or 8 (2-ounce) crottins

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

3 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

Fleur de sel, for sprinkling

1. Cut each goat cheese log into two equal pieces. If you are using crottins, they can be left whole. Place in a nonmetallic dish.

2. Mix together one-half cup of olive oil with the rosemary, thyme and coarsely ground pepper. Pour over the goat cheese and let sit at room temperature for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator or up to 1 week.

3. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

4. Remove the goat cheese from the marinade and place it in a pan or baking dish large enough to accommodate all the pieces. Drizzle a little of the marinade oil over the cheese. Bake until the goat cheese is soft but still holds its shape, about 5 minutes for room temperature cheese and 10 minutes for refrigerated cheese.

5. To serve, place the warmed rounds on a large platter or individual plates. Drizzle with the herbed olive oil and sprinkle with fleur de sel. Serve with warm fougasse on the side.

Rosemary fougasse

1 ( 1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast

1 cup warm water, divided

3 cups flour, divided

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

1. Dissolve the yeast in one-half cup of the warm water in a large bowl. Add one-fourth cup of flour and mix until combined. Let the mixture rise covered with plastic wrap or a damp towel in a warm place until extremely bubbly, about 40 minutes.

2. Add the remaining one-half cup water, olive oil, rosemary and pepper to the dough. Stir well. Combine the kosher salt with the remaining 2 3/4 cups flour and add to the dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface until the dough is soft and pliable, about 5 minutes.

3. Place the dough in a clean bowl and cover the dough with plastic wrap or a clean damp towel and let it rise in a warm place until doubled, 2 to 3 hours.

4. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place an oven rack on the top rung. Lightly grease a baking sheet with olive oil.

5. Punch the dough down and divide it into 8 pieces. Pat each piece into an oval and make three slits in the dough. Place on the baking sheet. Pull the dough to widen the slits. Cover the dough with a damp towel and let it rise for 20 minutes.

6. Remove the towel and brush the dough with olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with coarse sea salt. Bake on the top rack until golden, 30 minutes. Brush the fougasse with more olive oil immediately when it is removed from the oven. Serve warm.

Each serving: 505 calories; 680 mg. sodium; 26 mg. cholesterol; 33 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 37 grams carbohydrates; 16 grams protein; 2 grams fiber.

Robert Durell Los Angeles Times