Our friend Nick is a local caterer and he delighted us at a recent event with a delicious appetizer. It was a crustini made from slices of toasted baguette with a smear of goat cheese topped with a balsamic strawberry chutney. I couldn't get enough! Luckily, Nick was kind enough to explain to me what it was and how he made it so now I have the skills to recreate it at home. We are only eating for two around here now that all the kids are away at school and college, so fortunately SP knows how to make lovely toasted baguette slices!
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 shallot, chopped thinly
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large container strawberries, diced
2 teaspoons honey
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
a couple of grinds of fresh black pepper
2 Tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
a couple of dashes or dribbles of Balsamic glaze
Process
1. In a medium pan, heat the olive oil over a low medium heat.
2. Add the shallot and garlic and saute until soft and not browned.
3. Add the strawberries, honey, salt and spices and saute.
4. You can turn the heat up a bit, and when softening, start mashing with a potato masher.
5. When it becomes one blended pot, add the vinegar and the glaze and simmer for a while on lower heat as it reduces just a bit.
6. Remove from heat and spoon into a glass jar to cool in the fridge.
7. Serve on crustini on top of a slathering of goat cheese. Yum!
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