Port-soaked blue cheese crostini

Serves: 0
Course: Hors d'oeuvre
Cooking Time: 0 hr 20 mins

Ingredients

  • Makes about 20
  • 1 pack Cashel Blue cheese (125g)
  • 1 glass of Port
  • 1 small baguette, sliced into 1cm rounds
  • 2 pears, peeled and very finely diced
  • 1tsp caster sugar or squeeze of honey
  • Olive oil
  • Celery leaves to garnish
  • Black pepper

Preheat an oven to 180 degrees/gas 4. Soak the cheese in the Port in a shallow dish, overnight if possible, or even for a couple of days. To make the croutes: place the baguette slices on a parchment-lined baking tray, drizzle a little olive oil over them and toast in the oven till crisp and golden – about 12 minutes.

Toss the diced pear in a little oil with the sugar or honey, stir well, and grill under a high heat in a metal dish until very slightly charred. To serve, remove the cheese from the port (which you could use in a stew). Slice the marinated cheese and place on top of the slices of baguette. Pile a heaped teaspoon of the pear mixture on top and serve. I garnished with some celery leaves; coarse ground black pepper also works.

Domini Kemp

Domini Kemp

Domini Kemp, a contributor to The Irish Times, is a chef and food writer