Preparation

Prep it

• Wet a chef’s knife with warm water and cut the cheese into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. If the rounds fall apart, reshape them with your hands. Put the herb sprigs and garlic in a 1-pint glass jar.

  Pour a little of the olive oil in a small bowl, and dip each cheese round in the oil to coat it completely—this will keep them from sticking together in the jar. Add the rounds to the jar, alternating the cheese with the fennel or coriander seeds. Cover completely with oil and refrigerate for at least 4 days before eating.

Pack it

• For each serving, put half of the marinated cheese in a container and drizzle a little of the herb oil over it; refrigerate. Pack half of the nuts in a small container. Wrap the bread in aluminum foil. Bring the fresh fruit along separately, or pack dried fruit in small containers.

Put it together

• Let the goat cheese sit at room temperature for an hour before lunch. Warm the bread; slice the fresh fruit into wedges. Arrange the fruit, goat cheese, and nuts on your plate, drizzle with the oil, and eat them with the bread.

Make Ahead Tips

The goat cheese rounds can remain in their marinade, refrigerated, for up to 1 month.

If you don’t have goat cheese, you can marinate feta. Instead of walnuts, apples, and figs, you could pack sunflower or pumpkin seeds, raisins, or fresh or dried apricots. You can also add butter lettuce leaves, a can of oil-packed tuna or sardines, olives, or slices of prosciutto or salami.