Entree

This is a simple, light and refreshing starter or light meal, perfect for those warm summer days when tomatoes are at their best, kissed by the sun, and just picked, fresh from the garden, if you can… Otherwise, choose the ripest tomatoes, preferably heritage variety, available.

Tomato Crostini

Category: Brunch, Entree, Light Meal

Style: Italian

Keyword: Balsamic Vinegar, crostini, Cucumber, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Gluten Free Option, Tomatoes

Quantity: 4

Author: sbaskitchen

Ingredients

12 thin slices of baguette cut on the diagonal (see below for link to gluten free baguette recipe)
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
3 ripe tomatoes
1 small cucumber
1 or 2 shallots
Salt
Pepper
Sugar
Balsamic vinegar for drizzling
Basil leaves, to garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan)/180°C.
Lightly brush each side of baguette with extra virgin olive oil and lay in a single layer on a baking tray.
Bake in the oven until golden and just crisp.
Cut the garlic clove in half and rub the cut edge over both sides of the toasted baguette.
Drizzle a little olive oil over each slice of baguette.
Finely dice the shallot and cucmber, and place it into a bowl. Season with a little salt, freshly ground black pepper and a pinch or two of sugar, stir and set aside.
Dice the tomatoes, lightly season, and add to the shallots and cucumber. Stir to combine.
Check seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Place the slices of toasted baguette onto individual serving plates, or one large platter.
Generously top each slice with the tomato mixture.
Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Garnish with a basil leaves and serve.

Notes

You could also spread each crostini with a little basil pesto or goats cheese if you choose.
Use the best Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar for drizzling, that you can.
Crostini will keep in an airtight jar for a few days.
For gluten free baguette recipe click here

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Yum

I love coming up with new recipes to highlight new produce, and this weekend we received a wonderful gift of home-cured meats from a friend. Mike, Chris and Mon, our son’s future in-laws, visited from Melbourne and came bearing beautiful gifts, including beautiful flowers, some wonderful wine and Mike’s cured meats.

Flowers from Mike & Chris 20 Jan 17 - Image 2

The flowers went straight onto the table, they were so pretty, and the meats were put to good use as the foundation of a couple of amazing anitpasto platters, one as a starter to our evening meal, the other for a light lunch on the terrace.

Meal times were wonderful chatty affairs and we spent a lot of time getting to know each other better, talking about family, funny experiences, food and gardening. Previously we only seemed to catch up at family gatherings where there was little or no time to talk and get to know each other.

On Saturday while they went visiting, I took the opportunity to race into the local farmer’s market -I wanted a little something to send home with them, and the vegie patch is really not quite up to speed at the moment. I also needed to top up our supplies of Wuk Wuk steak.

When they returned they came bearing another gift, a wonderful heritage apple tree for our garden, a Ribston Pippin – another lovely thoughtful gift. I have already worked out where it is going to live and how it will be espaliered… We were so pleased to be able to give them a bag of fresh local produce – potatoes, beetroot, zucchini, corn, eggs, etc. as well as rhubarb from our garden and some Jalapeno Chili and Sprouting Broccoli seedlings. But after they left I was kicking myself, as I also wanted to give them some preserves from the store! Oh well, next time, they will be returning in March to help with some repairs to our home, and there are some cooking projects on the agenda as well.

Now… I wanted something different to cook to highlight one of Mike’s cured meats. Inspired by a recipe Endives Rôties au Roquefort, Chips de Jambon from Saveurs no 234 p59, I created Roasted Belgian Endive (Witlof) with Shadows of Blue Cheese and Mike’s Prosciutto, a recipe highlighting a luscious, creamy local blue cheese, Mike’s amazing prosciutto, and my fig vinegar. It’s a wonderful entrée with the bitterness of the endive, the crispness of the prosciutto, the creamyness of the cheese, the salt from both, and the sweetness of the fig vinegar all complementing each other.