This recipe tastes like summer. Fresh, flavorful tomatoes and tangy, creamy goat cheese come together in these bite sized party appetizers. Pair with wine and good company.
Springy Tomato Herb Rolled Goat Cheese Bruschetta
This recipe tastes like summer. Fresh, flavorful tomatoes and tangy, creamy goat cheese come together in these bite sized party appetizers. Pair with wine and good company.
Ingredients
- Olive Oil
- 1 baguette – sour dough or french whole wheat, whichever you prefer
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 3 roma tomatoes or a full box/bowl full of cherry tomatoes
- Fresh Basil rinsed and sliced julienne style – 1-3 leaves per round
- OR dry basil – 1/2 to 1 tsp to taste
- Fresh Spinach – optional – rinsed and sliced julienne style
- Salt & Pepper – to taste
- Herb Rolled Goat Cheese Log (or Plain) Trader Joe's is great for these.
- Balsamic Vinegar Reduction – optional
Instructions
- Rinse your fresh greens (basil and spinach), then gently pat drier and set aside. Rinse the tomatoes, cut off the green leafy tops and half them. If you’re crazy like me you now de-seed your roma or plum tomatoes (skip this step for cherry tomatoes) by halving the tomato and scooping the insides out with a spoon. Now dice your tomatoes.
- Saute the crushed/minced garlic cloves in olive oil for a minute, then add in the diced tomatoes. Add a little more oil if needed for a light even coating. Stir in a small pinch of salt & a few twists of pepper, then heat through for just like A minute on low-medium heat to soften the tomatoes and meld the flavors a bit. Remove from heat and add dried basil to mixture if you lack the fresh stuff. Add additional Salt & Pepper to taste.
- If you cook the tomatoes for too long they may become soggy and liquidy. It still tastes great but the texture is less ideal and you may need to drain off the extra liquid they’ll sweat off. The tomatoes cook up quickly so try to avoid overcooking!! You also don’t have to cook them at all, saving time. I like how the warm tomatoes melts the goat cheese though…
- While that cools a bit slice your baguette and get it toasted. You can cut it in rounds as pictured or slice the baguette in 3-4 inch sections split down the center like a deli sandwich. While bread is toasting, get your rinsed greens back out and stack & roll the leaves together to slice them in julienne style strips.
- Assemble your bruschetta – on the toasted slices heap a generous spoonful of the tomatoes on, then add your sliced fresh basil and spinach on top (or just mix the greens and tomatoes together and spoon it on. Whatever.) Now pull your herb goat cheese log from the fridge and twist your fork in the cheese to create crumbles. Sprinkle said crumbles on top and enjoy. This creates a lovely warm-cold contrast with the cold cheese getting melty and smeary as it warms from the tomatoes and toast.