Cherry tomato crostini with homemade goat´s cheese

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Hi everyone!

How are you? I hope all of you are well and have had some holidays to enjoy. I have not been blogging a whole lot not ue to lack of interest, but rather due to dedicating time to other interests. I have been cooking of course but I have also been reading. It has been completely blissful. Here is what I have been reading.

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Two are mysteries and they are wonderful. Perhaps you didn´t know that Charles Dickens wrote a mystery? It was his last work and he died before finishing it.That    shouldn´t deter you though. It is a delicious read and makes for an thrilling read. What a talent he had! As for Mary Higgins Clark, I think she is one of the greatest mystery writers alive today. You can´t put the book down until you finish it.

Finally, I have read Lunch in Paris, which is a very entertaining and interesting read. It is the true story about an American woman who moved to Paris after falling in love with a Frenchman. Her account of how hard it was for her to make that decision as well as her experiences in a foreign country were quite familiar to me. And to top it all off, she includes recipes that are related to the themes or experiences she addresses in the chapters. what a brilliant idea! If this sounds interesting to you, you can learn more about her and her books here .

This brings me to this week´s recipe in my cooking group Cookthebookfridays, which is cooking its way through David Lebovitz´s My Paris Kitchen . The recipe for cherry tomato crostin was inviting for several reasons.

  1. It is summertime and a perfect time for tapas.
  2. I can eat cherry tomatoes like some people can eat popcorn. I love them.
  3. I was in a bit of a cooking slump in the sense that I did not feel like doing anything time consuming. I wanted to dedicate my time to other things which not only invloved reading but also doing the yearly cleanout of the house. You know how some people do spring house cleaning? I do mine in August.

But…I was a bit concerned about the homemade goat´s cheese. I had the impression before closely looking at the recipe that it would be hard. I could not have been further from the truth. I was stunned by how simple and delicious it turned out to be. The main ingredient is yogurt and you can use gost´s milk yogurt or cow´s milk yogurt. As I could not find the fromer I used the latter

All it takes is pouring the yogurt into a cheesecloth that has been placed in a strainer, placing it over a bowl and refrigerating it overnight. Add the herbs later. Yep. That easy. And it is delicious.

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As for the cherry tomatoes, I roasted them with the herbs and then put them in a container to refrigerate overnight. They marinated nicely and it took a significant amount of self control on behalf of my husband and myself to keep from eating them all!

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So what was the reward for all this self restraint? Absolutely one of the best tapas I have ever had in my life. My husband rated this an 11 on a scale from 1 to 10. If any of you don´t have the cookbook, you can find the recipe here.

Have a great weekend everyone!

xxxxx Natascha

 

36 thoughts on “Cherry tomato crostini with homemade goat´s cheese”

  3. Oh I need to get my hands on EB’s Lunch in Paris, I love books with recipes! The last book I read involving a foreign country and recipes was: My Berlin Kitchen by Luisa Weiss. Another title (I absolutely adore) involving love, a foreign country and recipes is Marlena De Blasi’s A Thousand Days in Venice, An Unexpected Romance (still waiting to get my hands on the sequels). And I have been trying to make use of my many cookbooks too, cooking from one book per month for cooking and baking too!

    Love love the colors of the roasted tommies you used, delicious results with the ‘cheese’ spread! 11 out of 10 is good testimony! A keeper recipe we have this FF!

    1. Thank you so much! I think you will like Lunch in Paris and she has a folow up book of how she and her husband started making their own ice cream and opened a shop in the Provence! I will have to check out the books you mentioned! I appreciate you recommending them! This recipe was so simple but tasted like it required a lot of effort. I would make this a dinner next time. With a glad of wine too haha! Thanks again and have a great week!

    1. Slumps are forgiveable and normal! 😉 This recipe just ade me want to sit back, pour another glass of wine and totally chill out! A perfect treat! Have a great week!

    1. You are so right! I would make it for any occasion too, especially if company was to come over! This is easy and tastes incredible! I am so grateful to have discovered it!

  7. This was great, I truly agree! Side note, check out Steve Berry’s Cotton Malone series. They are such fun reads based on historical places and times.

  8. Oh my, those look delicious! I like the idea of making your own cheese. What fun. The books look wonderful too. Always looking for a good read 🙂

    1. Thank you so much! The cheese is simple to make too! I often say that I don´t have much time to read but I do. I should read more often because it is so relaxing!

  9. I have heard of Lunch in Paris. I fear many people have coined this phrase. Nice to know the source. Mary Higgins Clark M-M-M-M-M good! My sister brought over “home- made” yogurt this morning! Lovely! What timing with your goat cheese recipe . I sent her a link to your recipe to share in your great idea!!!!

    1. I love Mary Higgins Clark too! But seriously, I can be a bit antisocial until I finish one of her reads! They are wonderful! I cannot rest until I finish! Thank youfor sharing the link and I hope your sister likes the recipe too! Take careand have a good week!

  10. I second the thought that this is one of the best tapas. Love how the cherry tomatoes of different colors make the crostini look as good as they taste.

  11. I agree that these crostini burst the ratings scale – I loved everything about it. I’m glad you’re enjoying reading and doing other things. I think blog breaks can be a good recharge for your creativity.

    1. My husband suggested that next time I make more and then we could have them for dinner. Not a bad idea! I am so grateful to be in this cooking group and learning new recipes with all of you! The free time have had has been great. It is coming to an end in about a week or so but until then,Iwill enjoy every minute! Have a great week!

  15. I’m going with an 11 ranking also, just like your husband. I think these crostinis are delicious as a lunch or dinner (for me) and the Roasted Tomatoes – well, I’ve already made two batches. House cleaning in August? No. Reading, yes. I have read Elizabeth Bard’s book and also thought it was fun. Will save the homemade goat cheese when things slow down this Fall.

  16. What a wonderful post! I love Dickens, but have to admit that I have not actually read that one – so I’ll have to do that! I always love when people share their book titles.

    These tomatoes were just delicious, right? I missed the part about waiting a while before serving, but then again, missed the “making of the cheese” part too – soft goat cheese came to the rescue. But these were wonderful, and yours look just fabulous.

    1. This Dickens book is a great read. The way Dickens describes a person or a scene is just so engrossing! I would try this with some good store bought goat cheese too. Yum! Thank you so much! Looking forward to finding out what our next recipes to try will be!xxxx

  18. Ok, firstly I’m a Canadian living in the UK and I can barely stand the heat at this moment. How on earth are you handleing it in Spain! Secondly, I too have David Lebovitz’s book and it is brilliant and currently sitting next to me. Thirdly, the tomato crostini look like the perfect thing to enjoy with a good glass of cold wine while reading out on the deck. Thanks for sharing!!

    1. Hi! The heat is absolutely hell! The method of standing it is 1. Avoiding going outside during most of the day. 2. Being grateful for air conditioning. 3. Enjoying a cold beer or wine or two such as intelligent people like you and I do! 😁This summer has been quite merciless, hasn’t it? The book is fantastic and trust me, the crostini is as good as it looks! And accompanied with a wine and a good book sounds just perfect! Thank you so much for the kind comment and hang in there! Summer will be over soon…with luck! 😚😚😚😚😚😚

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