Small Cheeses At Roots Market -- Special Chunks On The Salad Bar Make An Easy Cheese Plate

Cheeses from Roots, paired with green tomato pickles and spicy tomato jam

I went into Roots Market Saturday looking for vegetables, but I came out with an entire cheese plate of surprises.

Walking past the salad bar, I saw a section filled with small pieces of cheese wrapped in plastic.  Roots in Clarksville has long been one of my favorite places for cheese, but this innovation changed my plans for dinner.  Each piece was $2-4, and I quickly sorted out three varieties that seemed to go together.

Small cheeses on the salad bar

I actually got advice from Roots' cheese specialist who was going off work, but stopped to recommend varieties.  She talked up one that had mustard.  She said she had cut pieces so that people could sample.

I'm in!  Three small cheeses meant big, easy fun.  I put them on a platter with spicy tomato jam that I canned last fall and thin-sliced green tomato pickles.  Three of us sat on the patio with crackers and enjoyed the warm, dry evening while the vegetables grilled.  That's Somederale Red Dragon, Petit Basque and Cotswold -- all winners.

The small cheeses will bring me back to Roots' salad bar.  I'm happy to spend money on great cheese, but you could drop $20 on three cheeses -- and then have way more than you could eat in any reasonable time.  The small cheeses were perfect for a single plate -- and keep an eye out for the Un Mondo chorizo at Roots as well.