It was the Memorial Day weekend of 2007 and I was throwing my annual Kick-Off to Summer Party (which also happens to be my birthday). I always bought a keg and made party appetizers for my guests. That year I came up with one of my all-time favorite party appetizers, the prosciutto, and goat cheese crostini.
Maybe I wasn’t the first person to come up with this insanely delicious combination, but at the time I thought I was pretty brilliant by using ingredients I already had in my fridge. The prep time for this depends on how many of these little things you want to make. The recipe to follow will allow for about 30 crostinis and will take about 30 minutes to prepare.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb of prosciutto (I prefer de parma, it’s a little pricy at $15 per pound, but so good!)
- 1 large log of goat cheese
- 1 french baguette
- 30 basil leaves
- Olive oil
- Balsalmic vinegar
- Garlic Salt
- Fresh Black Pepper
Prepare
- When ordering the prosciutto from the deli, ask them to cut it fairly thin, but not so thin that you can see through it. Ask for a sample to taste before they cut the rest.
- The bakery at most grocery stores will cut the baguette for you, just ask! If not, cut the baguette into 1-inch sections.
- Layout the prosciutto on a clean surface and separate them into 2-inch wide strips.
- Take half a teaspoon of goat cheese and put in on one end of the prosciutto and then roll it up so your meat is wrapped around the cheese. Make sure that you have one for each of the slices of bread.
- Layout the baguette slices on a baking pan and drizzle olive oil all over them. Not too much, but enough so that each slice has some on it.
- Sprinkle garlic salt and black pepper over top of them.
- Lay one basil leaf on top of each little baguette.
- Place your rolled goat cheese and prosciutto on top of each basil leaf.
- Preheat the oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit, then bake for about 10-15 minutes or until the baguette is slightly toasted.
- You can now dress them up with some added basil leaves and drizzle some balsamic vinegar (Not Too Much!) and they are ready to serve!
This party appetizer pairs great with a nice Sangiovese wine!
Check out my other great recipes under the Cocktails and Eats section!