Nearly everyone who tastes Cypress Grove’s Humboldt Fog for the first time falls madly in love. Each imposing wheel of soft-ripened goat cheese starts with a cake-like center, which transitions to an oozy cloak of double-cream goodness, and the whole thing is shot through with a line of smoky vegetable ash. If you’re a fan of big flavor, there’s a lot to love.
But what if we told you there’s even more flavor potential to unlock here? In a cheesy flex, Cypress Grove has combined beloved Humboldt Fog with fresh and herbaceous Purple Haze to create a tangy, floral masterpiece. Each limited-edition wheel of Haze Remix features the textures of Humboldt Fog, as well as a bold ribbon of lavender buds and fennel pollen running through the center. It’s like eating a summer evening in Provence, in the best possible way.
When it comes to cooking with Haze Remix, how can you showcase the star qualities of the cheese without it overwhelming the dish? We think these phyllo dough pastries possess the perfect balance of flavors that let Haze Remix shine while being a team player. Bet you can’t eat just one.
Candied Fennel and Goat Cheese Phyllo Cigars with Humboldt Fog Haze Remix
Ingredients
- 1 large or 2 small fennel bulb s
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 pound Humboldt Fog Haze Remix
- 2 eggs
- 1 stick 4 ounces unsalted butter, melted
- Approximately 21 sheets of 12x17-inch phyllo dough cut in half lengthwise (12x8.5 inches)
- Flaky salt as needed
Instructions
- ►Remove fennel stems and fronds, then chop bulb into ¼-inch thick pieces. Heat oven to 225°F.
- ►In a small pan over medium heat, heat sugar and water, stirring occasionally, until sugar is completely dissolved. Add fennel and cook for 5 minutes, then turn off heat and leave for 15 more minutes. Strain solids out and reserve syrup.
- ►Place cooked fennel on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake (with convection if you have it) for 40 minutes, flipping halfway through. When finished baking, remove from oven and set aside to cool.
- ►In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix cheese, eggs, and candied fennel (using your hands is recommended). Heat oven to 375°F.
- ►Set up a workstation with melted butter, cheese mix, and phyllo dough. Stacking phyllo sheets 6 at a time, brush each top sheet generously with butter, flip the stack and do the same to the bottom sheet.
- ►Take a heaping spoonful of cheese mixture and roll between your hands to form a tube about 6 inches long. Place tube on phyllo stack so it lies parallel to the long edge of dough, about 1 inch in from edge. Roll edge of dough over cheese to cover it once, then fold in each side and finish rolling. Repeat process until cheese mixture is gone.
- ►Place rolls on a lined baking sheet and brush tops with any remaining butter. Bake for 20 minutes, until just golden brown.
- ►While cigars are baking, reheat half the fennel syrup. (The rest will keep for a few days—great for cocktails!) When cigars are finished baking, remove from oven and gently push them together in the center of the baking sheet. Pour reheated syrup over cigars, letting it pool around them. Sprinkle all with flaky salt and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Cypress Grove
Cypress Grove was founded in 1983 by Mary Keehn. Cypress Grove is one of America's best known artisan goat cheese companies and makers of the iconic Humboldt Fog.
