Fried Goat Cheese

First, make the batter. Whisk 2 cups of the flour, baking powder and salt together in a large mixing bowl to aerate them. Then whisk in 2 tablespoons of the honey, followed by the cold soda water. Whisk it all together thoroughly until it is smooth, then refrigerate it until you are ready to fry. After that, take the goat cheese and form it into 16 little balls that are about 1/2 ounce each. Set them in refrigerator for 1 hour to firm back up again.

When the hour is almost up, whisk the remaining cup of flour, mahlab and cracked black pepper together in a shallow bowl. Get out a medium saucepan and fill it halfway with the canola oil. Use a deep fry thermometer to make sure the temperature reaches and stays around 375ºF. Get out the goat cheese balls and batter. In batches of two, coat the goat cheese balls in the seasoned flour first, followed by the batter. Drop them in the oil and stir them around so that they don’t stick.

After a minute, they should be perfectly golden and crispy. Remove them with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towel. Repeat this with the remaining 14 goat cheese balls in batches of two until they are all fried to perfection. Pile them on a plate or in a bowl and drizzle the additional honey on top, followed by the chopped pistachios. Serve immediately and enjoy!