Tomato And Goat Cheese Crostini Recipes

TOMATO & GOAT CHEESE CROSTATA

Steps:

• For the pastry, place the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse to combine. Add the diced butter and toss carefully with your fingers to coat each piece of butter with flour. Pulse 12 to 15 times, until the butter is the size of peas. While pulsing, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Pulse to combine, stopping just before the dough forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and form it into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450˚ F. Heat the 4 tablespoons butter in a large (12-inch) sauté pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add the leeks, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and sauté for 8 minutes, until the leeks are tender and starting to brown. Set aside. Place the tomatoes on a plate, sprinkle them with salt and pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Set aside.
• On a floured board, roll the dough into an 11-inch circle, then place it on a sheet of parchment paper. Turn a sheet pan upside down and transfer the paper to the inverted pan. Spread the leeks on the pastry, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Crumble the goat cheese evenly on top. Arrange the tomatoes over the goat cheese, overlapping the slices because they will shrink. Turn the edges of the pastry up and over the tomatoes, crimping so they lie flat. Brush the pastry with the egg wash. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pastry is nicely browned. Allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes, sprinkle lightly with the fresh herbs and salt, cut in wedges and serve warm.

GOAT CHEESE AND SUN-DRIED TOMATO CROSTINI

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler.
• In the bowl of a food processor combine the sun-dried tomatoes, sunflower seeds, basil leaves, Parmesan, 3 smashed garlic cloves, and lemon juice. Add half of the olive oil and puree until smooth. If the mixture seems too thick add more olive oil. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Remove it from the food processor, pour it into a bowl and refrigerate if not using immediately.
• Put the baguette slices onto a baking sheet in 1 layer and toast them on both sides under the broiler until golden brown. Remove them from the broiler and rub each slice with the whole garlic cloves.
• Spread the toasts with the softened goat cheese, top each with a teaspoonful of sun-dried tomato pesto, and garnish with the remaining basil that has been cut into chiffonade. Arrange on serving platters and serve.

TOMATO AND AVOCADO-GOAT CHEESE CROSTINI

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Slice the bread into 1/4" thick diagonal slices. In a little bowl, combine garlic and olive oil. Brush bread slices lightly with garlic oil. Arrange on baking sheets in single layers. Bake crostini for 10-15 minutes, till golden brown and crisp. Remove from oven and let cool. These can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container. Be sure to let cool completely before storing.
• In a bowl combine avocado, goat cheese and salt. Mix until smooth. (To make in advance, save avocado pit and bury in mixture to prevent browning.).
• In a separate bowl, combine tomato, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and basil.
• To serve, spread each crostini with about 1 tablespoon of avocado mixture, then top with tomato-basil mixture. Garnish with small basil leaves if desired.