05.22.12
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Happy Tuesday! Although I’m sure y’all love myintroductoryramblings, I’m skipping all that to jump right in. I have an amazing post for y’all today, including some tasty sneak peek pics of food fromMontereyand an amazing recipe using fresh California strawberries, balsamic vinegar and goat cheese. I know, the trifecta of awesome. I’ll give you a sneak peek.
Mouth watering yet? Now, before we dig into that recipe, I have to share some of the amazing food I had while out in California. The people at theCalifornia Strawberry Commission were AMAZING. Everything was incredible and they were soaccommodating! I’m working on my full, foodie recap which will be up tomorrow, so I thought I’d share just a few sneak peek photos of the amazing food I ate!
There was certainly no shortage of incredible food and ingredients. As soon as I got to Monterey, my head was already buzzing with delicious ideas for an innovative recipe using plump strawberries. I could do a light shortcake or a fresh strawberry cake. But no, what about something savory, like roasted strawberries with chicken or steak? It wasn’t until I took a bite of the balsamic strawberry panna cottawe had on Wednesday that it hit me.
I’ll do a roasted strawberry and balsamic vinegar compote! Then, I’ll serve it on crunchy French bread. But no, that wasn’t all. It needed something else. Then, as my typical craving for soft cheese hit, I knew what it was missing. GOAT CHEESE. So, this pretty little canapè was born.
I can’t describe how good these are. I just can’t. Sweet, savory, tangy, decadent, crunchy. There’s so many deliciousadjectivesI could use, but none of them do it justice. The combination of the sweet, savory and tangy is just…unreal.
What I love so much about this dish is how simple it is. Just a few fresh ingredients and a bit of baking time. No weird steps or strange oils, just real stuff. Real food. I love fancy food and crazy techniques, but I also love farm-to-table, real, simple food. Call me a plain,Midwesterngal, but a piece of bread with some cheese and fruit is an easy way to my heart.
This recipe sort of encompassed how we ate and what we learned while in Monterey. All the strawberries we ate were right from the farm down the street. The cheeses were made IN HOUSE. The pork cured in the chef’s basem*nt. That’s the kinda food I love.
Y’all, seriously, make this. And then report back with your explanation of how good it is. It’s honestly, just…make it. That’s all. Just make it. And pair it with wine! Because that’s what people do in California. They always pair things with wine. Why am I not living there yet?
Roasted Balsamic Strawberry & Goat Cheese Canapè
Yields 8 canapès & about 1 cup compote.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 8 pieces of crispy French bread
- 3/4 lb of strawberries, stems removed
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Dash of salt and pepper
- 1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon honey
- 6 ounces of soft goat cheese
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place whole strawberries on the parchment paper. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until they start tocaramelize.
- Remove from pan and place in a medium size mixing bowl. Add in balsamic (minus the 1 tablespoon), olive oil, honey and salt and pepper. Using a wooden spoon or other kitchen utensil (I used a whisk), mash the mixture together until a chunky jam forms. Taste the mixture and add additional balsamic, honey, or salt or pepper to taste. [If still a bit sweet or not sweet enough.]
- Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Place slices of bread on a baking sheet with new parchment paper. Spread cheese over each slice. Add about 1 teaspoon or so of compote. Bake for about 5 minutes, or until bread is browned and cheese is slightly melty. Add a few sprigs of fresh arugula and enjoy!
Nutritional information per canapè:
Calories: 177
Fat: 7 grams
Carbohydrates: 21 grams
Protein: 7 grams
Fiber: 1 gram
Weight Watchers Points Plus Points: 5
This post is sponsored by the amazing people at the California Strawberry Commission.
Leave a Comment | 24 Comments
PIN IT!
Claire
Categories:A Food Tip, Eat Skinny Be Skinny Recipes, Food Photography, Sponsored Post
Tags:California strawberries, California Strawberry Commission, California strawberry recipe, Eat Skinny Be Skinny Recipes, featured, healthy strawberry recipes, light appetizer recipes, strawberry balsamic recipe
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Comments
Posted by Meghan Splawn on
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
I am obsessed (seriously obsessed) with roasted strawberries right now. Imagine how delicious these balsamic ones would be ina co*cktail, a little gin and some soda water - who needs wine?
Reply
Posted by Katie {Epicurean Mom} on
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
These sound insane!!! What a perfect sumer treat!!
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Posted by Michelle on
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
Yum! These look awesome. Anything with cheese and bread is good in my book, but these sound fresh and light too.
Reply
Posted by Cassie Laemmli on
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
I could not love this more Claire! Strawberries and goat cheese are a match made in heaven!
Reply
Posted by Anonymous on
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
How fun! And I love Monterey so much, my husband wants to move there someday when we are old and retired. Can't wait for all those pics, sounds like a lot of fun!
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Posted by Vicki @ WITK on
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
I love goat cheese and have been wanting to try roasting strawberries! This looks just perfect. An amazing bite!
Reply
Posted by Stephsbitebybite on
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
Wow!! These sound incredible!!
Reply
Posted by Gourmantine on
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012
Oh my, this has to be the most perfect spring canape! Looks so pretty :)
Reply
Posted by Erica Julson on
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012
mmmm this looks so good! I just got some strawberries from the farmers market too. perfect timing!
Reply
Posted by Maggie G. on
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012
Drooooool. This looks amazing! I love the combo of goat cheese & fruit!
Reply
Posted by DB-The Foodie Stuntman on
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012
Congratulations on making the foodbuzz Top 9!
Reply
Posted by KatefromScratch on
Thursday, May 24th, 2012
Congratulations on the foodbuzz top 9! Well deserved. This recipe is easy, elegant, seasonal and fresh. I love it!
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Posted by Baker Street on
Friday, May 25th, 2012
Congratulations on top 9 yesterday! you really did put together a great combination on flavors here!
Reply
Posted by LP @dishclips on
Tuesday, June 12th, 2012
Anything on toasts or crostinis I love and this looks great!
Reply
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Posted by Carlene on
Wednesday, December 30th, 2015
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. Last week I was on canapés for Xmas lunch and I too wanted to do "strawberries but savoury". I should have said, I'm in New Zealand, hence the strawberries at Xmas - they are so good this time of year. This canapé was both delicious and a real talking point. I did have to reduce the compôte quite a bit because I felt mine was too runny, and that was fine. I also thought I would "posh it up" and use puff pastry rounds instead of crostini. Sounds nice, right? Nope. Dumb idea, should have stuck to toasts, or maybe used a short pastry. But thanks again for sharing such a great recipe and I hope you had a lovely Christmas.
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