Goat Cheese Toasts With Spring Salad
By ltrodrigu
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Caña de Cabra, Bucheron or other mild, young goat cheese
- 4 (1/4 -inch-thick) slices rustic bread
- 1 1/2 tablespoos olive oil, plus more for brushing toast
- Salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar
- 2 teaspoons minced shallot
- 1 1/2 tablespoons hazelnut oil
- 1 medium fennel bulb, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise into thin rounds
- 5 ounces wild arugula
- 8 ounces strawberries, stemmed and quartered
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped hazelnuts, toasted
- 8 basil leaves, roughly torn, optional
Details
Adapted from online.wsj.com
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut goat cheese into four ¾-inch rounds. (Briefly heat knife blade under hot water after each incision for neat slicing.) Refrigerate rounds until ready to use.
Place bread on a baking sheet and brush slices with olive oil. Bake bread in oven until golden, 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from oven and set aside. Preheat broiler.
Meanwhile, make vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar and shallots with a pinch of salt. Let shallots macerate 10 minutes, then whisk in 1½ tablespoons olive oil and hazelnut oil. Season with salt to taste. Set aside.
Make salad: In a large bowl, toss together fennel, arugula, strawberries, hazelnuts and basil, if using. Set aside.
Top toasts with cheese rounds, place under broiler and broil until cheese blackens in spots, 2 minutes.
Toss salad with enough vinaigrette to coat, and season with salt to taste. Distribute salad among four plates and place a warm goat cheese toast alongside each helping.
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