Goat’s cheese and chicory crostini with balsamic pickled shallots

Goat’s cheese and chicory crostini with balsamic pickled shallots

A perfect nibble to have with champagne, these goat’s cheese crostini are easy to make ahead so all you have to do – when guests arrive – is assemble them.

Goat’s cheese and chicory crostini with balsamic pickled shallots

  • Serves icon Makes about 20
  • Time icon Hands-on time 30 min, oven time 10 min, plus salting and cooling

A perfect nibble to have with champagne, these goat’s cheese crostini are easy to make ahead so all you have to do – when guests arrive – is assemble them.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories
66kcals
Fat
3.2g (1.2g saturated)
Protein
2.2g
Carbohydrates
6.6g (3.2g sugars)
Fibre
0.8g
Salt
0.4g

Per toast

Ingredients

For the pickled shallots

  • 500g shallots
  • 1 tbsp fine sea salt
  • 350ml malt vinegar
  • 150ml balsamic vinegar
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 fresh rosemary sprigs
  • 2 fresh thyme sprigs
  • ½ tsp black peppercorns
  • 1 tsp pink peppercorns
  • ¼ tsp each black and yellow mustard seeds
  • ½ tsp caraway seeds

For the crostini

  • 3 large slices sourdough
  • 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
  • 2 heads red or yellow chicory, finely sliced
  • 1 fresh thyme sprig
  • 2 tbsp clear honey, plus extra for drizzling
  • Handful fresh flatleaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 100g soft goat’s cheese

You’ll also need…

  • 1 large (about 1 litre) sterilised jar, or several smaller jars with lids
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Method

  1. Peel and halve the shallots, put in a glass or ceramic bowl, toss in the salt, then set aside for 1 hour. Rinse well to remove the salt.
  2. Gently warm the remaining pickling ingredients in a heavy-based pan over a low heat to dissolve the sugar, then bring up to a fast simmer. Remove from the heat, add the rinsed shallots, then set aside to cool before transferring to your sterilised jar.
  3. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Cut the sourdough into bite-size pieces, put on a baking tray and drizzle with a little olive oil. On a separate baking tray, toss the sliced chicory and thyme with a little olive oil and spread out. Put both baking trays in the oven and cook the bread for 5-8 minutes until crisp, then remove to cool. After 8 minutes, drizzle a little honey over the chicory, then return to the oven for 2 minutes until lightly charred. Set aside to cool.
  4. For the parsley drizzle, in a small bowl whisk together the 3 tbsp olive oil with 2 tbsp of the onion pickling juice, 2 tbsp honey, the chopped parsley and a little black pepper.
  5. To assemble the crostini, top each piece of toasted sourdough with some charred chicory, a wedge of goat’s cheese, a slice of pickled onion and a drizzle of dressing.

Nutrition

Per toast

Nutrition: per serving
Calories
66kcals
Fat
3.2g (1.2g saturated)
Protein
2.2g
Carbohydrates
6.6g (3.2g sugars)
Fibre
0.8g
Salt
0.4g

delicious. tips

  1. You could swap the balsamic vinegar with red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar.

  2. Make the shallots at least a week ahead. Store in a sterilised jar (find out how to sterilise jars here) and keep in a cool place for up to 
2 months. Use in salads or with cheeses, or package in smaller jars with ribbon and tags to give as a gift.

    Toast the bread and roast the chicory in the morning, then set aside, covered, at room temperature.

    Assemble no more than 30 minutes ahead or the crostini may soften.

  3. The crostini will taste great with a bone-dry, crisp sparkling wine such as a dry cava.

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