another party treat

Goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes are a perfect pair.  Years ago, on some long forgotten cooking show, I saw a chef blanket a log of goat cheese with sun dried tomatoes, wrap it up in grape leaves, and roast it on the grill.  So I tried it.  It was delicious, but the tomatoes were hard to cut through, and I thought there was some opportunity to bring more flavors to the party.

Which made me think of pesto.  I toasted some pine nuts (about 1/3 cup), soaked some dried tomatoes in hot water for about 15 minutes, and threw the tomatoes, pine nuts, and some basil in the food processor.

the tomatoes and pine nuts are first chopped,

then basil and a little olive oil bring the pesto together

I rinsed and dried jarred grape leaves, available at most supermarkets, then laid out a double layer on wax paper.

the grape leaves need to be long and wide enough

to wrap the goat cheese like a burrito

The rest is simple.  Lay the goat cheese log on the grape leaves, and simply pack the tomato pesto around the outside.

the grape leaf covered goat cheese can be wrapped in the 

wax paper, and refrigerated for a couple of days

The cheese can be cooked, until very soft, either on a grill or in the oven.  Once the cheese is very soft to the touch, simply cut open the grape leaves, and serve the warm cheese smeared on slices of toasted rustic bread, dabbed with olive oil infused with garlic.  It is delicious, and a big hit at parties.

Tradition for preparing bruschetta is to slice a hearty bread, like French bread or boule, toast it, and rub it with a garlic clove, then drizzle it with olive oil.  Seems like a bit too much work for me, so I toast the bread, then brush it with olive oil that has been infused with fresh garlic.

a few smashed cloves of garlic in olive oil

makes wonderful garlic bread, brushed on 

toasted, rustic bread

The grape leaves can be cut open at the top, and spread open to display the warm cheese, with toasts on the side for guests to help themselves, or the cheese can be spread on the warm toasts, and served individually.

rustic, warm toast with goat cheese and tomato pesto

It makes a wonderful appetizer, or even a nice side dish for a bowl of soup and a salad.  Leftovers will keep in the fridge for about a week.