Crispy Goat Cheese Salad Toppers

I learned to make these while vacationing in Washington this summer from my cousin Jenny. I think it is an alternate version of this recipe. For some reason it had never occurred to me to make this, but apparently fried cheese on salad is pretty common. It's kinda like a crouton but mostly like a crispy cheesy thing so inevitably it's super delicious.

Ingredients

For Cheese Salad Toppers:
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
Pinch of kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
Flour
4 ounces (1 package) goat cheese
1/2 cups grated Gruyere (or Jarlesberg) cheese
Olive Oil

For Salad:
Mixed greens or spinach
Baby heirloom tomatoes
Red Onion

Lightly season the Panko bread crumbs with a pinch of kosher salt and some pepper. Grate the Gruyère into a medium sized bowl. Break the goat cheese into pieces and mash together with the Gruyère. 
Form into patties (I got 5 out of this batch) and then dip into the flour, egg, and bread crumbs. Set patties aside. 
Cover the bottom of a frying pan with olive oil, about 2 tablespoons, or enough until the bottom of the pan is coated. 
Fry each patty on medium heat until they are golden brown. This takes about 2 minutes. 
Remove with slotted spatula and place on a paper towel to drain. Serve warm on the salad of your choice.
The nice thing about these is that they are sort of rich, so they pair nicely with a simple salad without dressing (just lightly season with salt and pepper). For mine, I used mixed greens, baby heirloom tomatoes, and a few thin slices of red onion. A basic baby spinach with bell pepper salad tastes amazing with it too.

Enjoy!