Goat cheese verrines with spiced apple-jelly

The beginning of each month is highlighted by the Secret Recipe Club so there is always something good to look for around the corner.
For the month of May I was assigned Megan's blog "Megan's Cookin". From her blog it is evident that she loves to cook and eat a bit of everything, so much so that she end up being a polygamous! But can you blame her to love both citrus and chocolate? Nah we can't, can we?
In her blog, she swings between classics and newty, like these teriyaki meatballs with pineapple she made for a past round of the SRC.

In my quest to pick something savory and carbs free, I went through her musing and pretty fast I came up with the recipe I wanted to recreate: Roquefort Grapes.
I was in Italy when I read the post so I was actually thinking of using some pecorino cheese as main flavoring but once I got back to Germany I went back to Roquefort, just couldn't resist playing with my beloved one. Italy still had an influence on my dish since I decided to use Mascarpone instead of cream-cheese and goat cheese. This made the dish a little smoother and more delicate with more of a custard texture and a nice refreshing tang.
My creativity was then left free with the fruit bits of the recipe. I decided to make a spiced apple jelly, since in Germany we are big on apple juice and we can get great ones.
To compliment the mellowness of the other flavors, I went with toasted walnuts instead of almonds; their sturdiness can face well the Roquefort bites.
Plating them in a verrine, make them even the more elegant and fit for a formal occasion.

So here I give you my:

Goat cheese verrines with blue-cheese crumbles, toasted walnuts and spiced apple-jelly



Ingredients (serve 4 as appetizer):


Apple jelly:

• 1.5cup apple juice, reduced to 1cup 
• 45g celeriac, diced or minced 
• 0.5g mace 
• 2 cloves 
• 1 small garlic clove, chopped 
• 1/2tsp coriander seed 
• 1 long peppercorn 
• agar-agar, 0.3% of final weight of the infusion

Cheese custard:

• 80g Mascarpone 
• 100g soft Goat cheese 
• 20g Roquefort, diced 
• 1tsp olive oil 
• 2tbsp cream 
• 1 dusting of garlic powder (optional) 
• Black Pepper 
• Toasted walnuts 

Method:
To prepare the jelly, combine in a saucepot the reduced apple juice with the rest of the ingredients except the agar-agar. Let the whole simmer until reduced to roughly half, cover and let cool down.
At this point strain the infused apple juice through a cheesecloth pressing well the solids. Weigh the infusion and prepare 0.3% of this weight in agar-agar. In a small saucepot, combine one third of the infusion with the agar-agar and bring to a boil stirring; combine with the rest of the infusion and pour it in a flat container (a rectangular one would be best). Let the jelly set on a flat surface before cutting it into dices.


To prepare the cheese mousse combine all the ingredients, well chilled, in a bowl and whip it with an electric beater. Chill until ready to use.


To serve, pour a little of the cheese mousse in the serving container top with some toasted walnuts crumbled, top with some more mousse and then with some apple jelly dices.