Jul 21, 2011

QUICK SUMMER BITES

What is more appropriate then biting through a crostini (aaah.. those Italians strike again!) and sipping on a glass of wine under the sun? At this time of the year, I find crostinis to be perfect to nibble on and absolutely love that with just a few slices of bread, the range of flavours you can mix and match are quite endless.. from savoury to sweet. I know I have some personal favourites: anything with roasted eggplants usually is right up my alley. I'm also very much of a cheese based crostini person- especially if you top it off with loads of arugula. But what I'm really loving right now is fennel. It's an ingredient I usually associate with fish dishes, but in the summer I fall in love with it's crunchy texture and how it smells so refreshing with that distinctive anise-liquorice scent.

That's why here I've used it in combination with goat cheese, roasted tomatoes and lots of dill & olive oil.


I like to roast my tomatoes until they're slightly burnt on the edges. It gives them that je-ne-sais-quoi...

These ''little bites'' were a pleasure to enjoy. And most certainly simple to make. Here's how:

Recipe for Goat Cheese, Fennel & Roasted Tomato Crostini, ready in a snap!:

Your favourite choice of bread- sliced. French baguette, ciabatta, sourdough bread... pretty much anything goes!
Goat cheese (soft)
Tomatoes, cut into quarters & roasted
Fennel, chopped
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Dill
Salt & Pepper

Grill your slices of bread and drizzle with good quality extra virgin olive oil. In the meantime, heat some olive oil in a pan and saute the chopped fennel for 2-3 minutes. Then add the roasted tomatoes, add lots of dill, season with salt & pepper and mix everything gently. Add slices of goat cheese on the grilled bread slices, spread lightly, drizzle some olive oil and grill in the oven for two minutes. Finally, top off with a generous chunk of the fennel-tomato mixture. Bite in, enjoy!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

The crostini looks great. Just fresh and inviting.

Giselle said...

Welcome to the US! I'm sure you're loving New York and I hope you have the chance to visit other parts of the country. One of the best kept secrets of the US is that we have our own regional "cuisine" too (and I'm not just talking about Chicago vs NY style pizza). I had kept your blog bookmarked "just in case" and I'm so happy to see that you are back to posting beautiful, delicious plates!

birgit said...

yeah
great to see you back
i get so many compliments for your raspberry muffins and missed you deeply
lg birgit