Heirloom Tomato, Fried Goat Chevre, Caramelized Corn And Basil Chiffonade

For this dish, I began by sauteing the kernels from one ear of corn in a non-stick pan with a pat of butter. Once the kernels were cooked through and slightly caramelized, I set them aside in a bowl.

While the corn was sauteing, I prepared each plate by slicing the tomatoes rather thick, about 3/4 inch. I topped each tomato slice with a pinch of kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, then drizzled with my best LunaOlivo Basil olive oil and Modena balsamic vinegar.

Next, I heated the same non-stick skillet over medium high heat. I added about 1/3 inch of olive oil. While the oil came up to temperature (the oil is hot enough when it starts to shimmer), I prepared the goat cheese disks by rolling pieces like a hamburger and flattening (your cheese log may be round already and if it is, then skip this step) into a disk 1/2 inch thick. Each disk was lightly coated with flour. Then ,I dipped each piece into a beaten egg, and coated each one thoroughly with bread crumbs seasoned with salt and pepper.

The easiest way to do this traditional breading is to set out three shallow bowls (pie pans work really well) with the flour, beaten egg, and seasoned bread crumbs. Arrange the bowls so that the nearest one to the skillet is the last one used for dipping, which is the bread crumbs.

I transfered the bread crumb-coated chevre to the hot oil and cooked on each side until nicely browned. The chevre disks were then transfered to a paper towel to drain the excess oil.

One piece of fried chevre was placed atop each tomato. I plated the corn on an Asian spoon aside the tomato for presentation and garnished the dish with the chiffonade of basil.

The corn is tossed over the tomato and cheese prior to eating (kind of fun to do!) so you can get a taste of everything in one bite. Like this;