Garden Fresh Gazpacho With Goat Cheese Toast Food

HERBED GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Find a small, wide-mouth canning jar or small glass vase (3 1/2 inches in diameter by 4 inches high), just large enough to hold the two goat cheeses on top of each other with a little room to spare. Cut each cheese in half horizontally, making 2 rounds from each. (A piece of dental floss makes this easier.)
• Place half of the first disk flat in the jar, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then with 1/2 teaspoon dill, 1 teaspoon basil, and a few red pepper flakes, and drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Place another disk of cheese on top and repeat the seasonings, herbs, and oil. Continue with the remaining cheese disks, piling one on top of the other with oil and seasonings in between. When all the disks are stacked and seasoned, drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil on top. Cover and set aside at room temperature for one hour or refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Serve at room temperature with bread or crackers for people to help themselves.

EASY GAZPACHO & GOAT CHEESE CROUTONS

Steps:

• Cut the tomatoes, scallions, cucumber, and onion in large pieces and place them in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the garlic and pulse until the soup is coarsely pureed. Place it in a large bowl and whisk in the vinegar, olive oil, celery salt, red pepper flakes, tomato paste, tomato juice, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 4 hours or overnight.
• When ready to serve, preheat the broiler and place the top rack 5 to 7 inches from the heat. Cut 6 (1/2-inch-thick) diagonal slices from the baguette. Place on a sheet pan, brush with olive oil, and broil for 1 to 2 minutes on one side. Turn the slices, spread with the goat cheese, and broil for another minute, until the cheese is warm and the bread is toasted. Serve big bowls of cold soup with a warm goat cheese crouton and a drizzle of olive oil.

GOAT CHEESE TOASTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Arrange the bread slices on 2 heavy large baking sheets. Brush olive oil over the bread slices. Bake until the crostini are pale golden and crisp, about 15 minutes.
• Blend the goat cheese and cream cheese in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Add the parsley, thyme, and lemon peel. Using the on/off button, pulse just to blend. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spread the cheese mixture over the crostini. Sprinkle with the olives, chives, and more pepper. Arrange the toasts on a platter and serve.
• Do-Ahead Tip: The crostini and cheese mixture can each be prepared 2 days ahead. Store the crostini in an airtight container at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate the cheese mixture. Let the cheese mixture stand at room temperature for 1 hour to soften slightly before spreading over the crostini.

GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not overprocess!
• After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.

TOMATO & GOAT CHEESE CROSTATA

Steps:

• For the pastry, place the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse to combine. Add the diced butter and toss carefully with your fingers to coat each piece of butter with flour. Pulse 12 to 15 times, until the butter is the size of peas. While pulsing, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Pulse to combine, stopping just before the dough forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and form it into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450˚ F. Heat the 4 tablespoons butter in a large (12-inch) sauté pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add the leeks, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and sauté for 8 minutes, until the leeks are tender and starting to brown. Set aside. Place the tomatoes on a plate, sprinkle them with salt and pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Set aside.
• On a floured board, roll the dough into an 11-inch circle, then place it on a sheet of parchment paper. Turn a sheet pan upside down and transfer the paper to the inverted pan. Spread the leeks on the pastry, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Crumble the goat cheese evenly on top. Arrange the tomatoes over the goat cheese, overlapping the slices because they will shrink. Turn the edges of the pastry up and over the tomatoes, crimping so they lie flat. Brush the pastry with the egg wash. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pastry is nicely browned. Allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes, sprinkle lightly with the fresh herbs and salt, cut in wedges and serve warm.

GARDEN-FRESH GAZPACHO WITH GOAT CHEESE TOAST

Steps:

• Working in two to three batches, place the tomatoes, garlic, onion, bell peppers and cucumber in a food processor and pulse until almost pureed. Transfer the veggie mixture to a large bowl after each batch.. Stir in the lemon juice, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. Chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours.. Toast the bread until firm-crisp. Spread the goat cheese over the bread and cut into wedges.. Ladle the soup into individual bowls and top with cilantro and a drizzle of olive oil if desired. Serve with goat cheese toasts.

FIG AND GOAT CHEESE TOASTS

Steps:

• Toast the bread in a toaster and while it is still warm, spread the fig spread on each slice to cover it entirely. Place the cheese in a bowl and heat in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds, until it's creamy and spreadable. Spread a layer of the cheese on the fig spread, leaving the edges of the fig spread visible. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Cut each toast crosswise to make appetizers that will be easy to eat. Place a fig slice on each piece, top with a few microgreens, and drizzle lightly with the balsamic vinegar. Serve at room temperature.

GARDEN-FRESH GAZPACHO

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first 14 ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Garnish each serving with croutons.

YELLOW TOMATO GAZPACHO WITH GOAT CHEESE CROUTONS

Steps:

• Turn on food processor. Drop in garlic and process to chop fine. Add tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, scallions, oil, cumin, mayonnaise, lemon juice and vinegar. Cut 6 thin slices from baguette and set aside. Remove crusts from the rest. Crumble the insides and add to food processor. Add 1 cup cold water. Pulse to chop very fine.
• Transfer to a blender and purée. You will probably have to do this in two or three shifts. Place purée in a metal bowl. Cover and refrigerate until very cold. Season with salt.
• Toast one side of reserved bread slices under a broiler. Turn slices over and top each with a slice of goat cheese. Place under broiler until cheese is very lightly browned. To serve, place soup in bowls, top each with a goat cheese crouton and a scattering of corn.