| Issue #12 - June 12, 2009 |
Food For 'Tauk
Lemon and Goat Cheese Crostini
By Genevieve Salamone
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Photo by Genevieve Salamone
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I am a fan of cheese. I don't discriminate by color, texture or smell, I just love them all. As my favorite Food Network foodie Rachael Ray says, "I've never met a cheese I didn't like." Me either, Rach.
After all, what's not to like? I've recently been having a love affair with goat cheese, or cheevre, as they call it in France (chevre means both goat and goat cheese in French; you learn something new every day!) Now, I don't think I've ever had actual goat cheese from France, but I find good quality cheeses quite easily in my local grocery stores and specialty markets.
I love the spreadable consistency of goat cheese, which makes it perfect for snacking with crackers or bread. I love it on salads with tangy ingredients like beets and spicy lettuces such as arugula. Since goat cheese is so incredibly rich and buttery, I feel it needs some sort of acidity to complement it correctly, and that's how I came up with this week's recipe.
It's really a perfect little recipe for me and I get to have three of my favorite foods: bread, cheese and lemon. The lemon acts as the tang I mentioned that balances perfectly with the goat cheese. My Lemon and Goat Cheese Crostinis are a perfect start to any meal - or, if you're like me, they are just the snack I'm looking for.
Lemon and Goat Cheese Crostini
1 large French baguette, cut into 1/4-inch thick rounds
1/4 cup of olive oil, plus a few tablespoons for drizzling on your bread
9 ounces good quality goat cheese
2 tablespoons lemon zest
juice of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle a few tablespoons of oil over your cut baguette slices and bake for just a few minutes, until bread is golden brown.
Meanwhile, combine lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of lemon zest, salt and pepper in a small mixing bowl. Slowly drizzle in olive oil while mixing until vinaigrette is well mixed.
Take your bread out of the oven, and spoon some of your lemon vinaigrette on each round. Take your goat cheese and spread about teaspoon on each round. Put back in the oven for another 3-5 minutes, just to soften the goat cheese a little. Transfer to a serving platter and scatter the remaining tablespoon of lemon zest.
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