Creole Baked Goat Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp Olive oil (For the goat cheese mixture)
• 2 tbsp Garlic (Fresh, minced)
• 0.5 cup Sweet onion (Diced ¼ inch)
• 4 oz Fresh chèvre goat cheese (Weight)
• 1 Vine-ripened Roma tomato (Seeded and diced ¼ inch)
• 1 tbsp Fresh cilantro (Chopped)
• 1 tbsp Fresh parsley (Chopped; for goat cheese mixture)
• 0.25 tsp Hot pepper sauce
• Salt (To taste; also for seasoning the red pepper cups)
• Freshly ground black pepper (To taste; also for seasoning the red pepper cups)
• 1 Red bell pepper (Medium-sized; used to make roasted pepper cups)
• 1 tbsp Olive oil (For rubbing inside the pepper cups)
• 0.5 loaf Cuban bread or French baguette (Cut crosswise into ¼-inch slices; recipe specifies 16 slices)
• 4 tbsp Butter (Softened to room temperature; for garlic butter)
• 1 Garlic (Clove, fresh and minced; for garlic butter)
• 1 tbsp Fresh parsley (Chopped; for garlic butter)
• Fresh tomato salsa (For serving; recipe does not provide a quantity or salsa recipe)

Steps

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

2. 2

   Prepare the red pepper cups: cut the red bell pepper in half to form a top and bottom. Remove and discard the seeds, and trim the stem so the top half can stand upright.

3. 3

   Rub the inside of the pepper halves with olive oil, then season lightly with salt and pepper.

4. 4

   Place the pepper halves cut side up in a pie plate and bake for 5 minutes, just until slightly softened. Let the cups cool upside down so excess juice can drain before filling.

5. 5

   Cut the bread crosswise into sixteen ¼-inch-thick slices and set them aside.

6. 6

   In a small mixing bowl, blend the softened butter with the minced garlic and chopped parsley until thoroughly mixed.

7. 7

   Spread about ½ teaspoon of garlic butter on both the top and bottom of each bread slice. Place the buttered croutons on a cookie sheet.

8. 8

   Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat.

9. 9

   Add the 2 tablespoons minced garlic and diced sweet onion to the pan. Sauté just until the onion becomes translucent.

10. 10

    Remove the pan from the heat and allow the onion-garlic mixture to cool to room temperature.

11. 11

    Transfer the cooled onion-garlic mixture to a mixing bowl. Add the goat cheese, diced tomato, cilantro, parsley, hot pepper sauce, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.

12. 12

    Mix thoroughly with a rubber spatula, then adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper to taste.

13. 13

    Fill the cooled roasted red pepper cups with the goat cheese mixture.

14. 14

    Bake the filled pepper cups in the preheated 350°F (175°C) oven for 10 minutes.

15. 15

    Place the garlic-buttered croutons in the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

16. 16

    Remove the pepper cups and croutons from the oven. Transfer the pepper cups to the center of a serving platter and arrange the baked croutons in a circle around them.

17. 17

    Serve with fresh tomato salsa on the side. For the full experience, cut the pepper cups into wedges when eating so the filling can be enjoyed with the red pepper.

Notes

The source gives a serving-size line of 2 to 4, while the separate serving-size field says 2; servings is set to 2. Fresh tomato salsa is mentioned for serving but no amount or preparation is given. The crouton instructions specify 16 slices and about ½ teaspoon garlic butter on each side of each slice, although the bread quantity is listed as ½ loaf.

Nutrition per serving

• appetizer
• vegetarian
• contains dairy
• contains gluten
• baked
• shareable