Love and Olive Oil

Beet Green and Goat Cheese Crostini

Beet Green and Goat Cheese Crostini

More greens. More goat cheese. Another bruschetta. There are obviously some common themes in our posts recently, mostly due to our csa. I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of pizzas, bruschettas, and pastas this summer; each serves as a blank ‘canvas’ of sorts for the ingredients of the moment. This brushetta (or crostini, what is the difference, really?) features a tangy lemon zest and goat cheese spread, and a splash of balsamic vinegar that brings out the best in the beet greens.

I think that we’ve been enjoying our time more and more in the kitchen. Not that we didn’t enjoy it before; but the idea of planning your menu around a set of ingredients, rather than the other way around (buying ingredients based on a set menu), makes cooking and eating much more interesting. We get to be creative, doing our best to put all of our csa produce to good use before it goes bad. It’s a challenge, that’s for sure; but I feel like that challenge has only inspired us more.

Beet Green and Goat Cheese Crostini

Makes about 20 crostini. Adapted from White on Rice.

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Ingredients:

1 large handful beet greens (from about 2-3 medium beets)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
6 oz goat cheese
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
freshly cracked black pepper
1 fresh French baguette, sliced thin and lightly toasted
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

Trim the stems from greens. Slice stems into 1/4″ thick rounds, and cut remaining leaves into bite sized pieces. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a saute pan. Add stems and saute 3-4 minutes. Add greens and cook until greens are tender but still bright green, about 2-3 minutes. At the very end, add a splash of balsamic vinegar and toss to coat. Remove from heat.

In a small bowl, combine goat cheese, lemon juice and pepper to taste. Mix well.

Divide goat cheese mixture among bread slices, and top with cooked beet green greens. Lightly sprinkle with sea salt.

All images and text © / Love & Olive Oil

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11 Comments

  1. Fresh goat cheese… do you suppose you could make fresh goat cheese by the same method as cow’s milk ricotta? If yes, then the question becomes, where can I get local organic goat’s milk? Oh, and how about sheep’s milk ricotta? Oh! the possibilities.

  2. Love this idea and have lots of beet greens in our weekly vegetable box from local farm

  3. Thanks so much for this idea – this post really made me crave goat cheese, which is a good thing because buying goat cheese made it possible for my boyfriend to make this (see post linked below). Thanks again for the wonderful inspiration, we loved the flavor combination and will likely do something like this again.

    http://myboyfriendcooksforme.blogspot.com/2010/07/fish-and-chips-andgoat-cheese.html

  4. Ohhhh… You had me at “beet greens”! Such an underrated ingredient!! Yum!

  5. This is my kind of snack. Just brilliant!

  6. What a great use for beet greens! And I love beets so I am sure if I decided to make this recipe I would have no problem finding a use for the beets attached to the greens. :) Just found your blog through Twitter, looking forward to reading more!

  7. I just stumbled across your blog for the first time… I like it! I will be back! These look delicious!

  8. Brilliant! I never would have thought to use beet greens this way, but the flavors you describe sound absolutely perfect. I’m sharing this!

  9. I’ve started to cook according to the ingredients I have and love the challenge of it. I have to remind myself to buy beets this week though because that crostini looks delish.

  10. Your second paragraph describe my exact feelings on doing a CSA! I enjoy the challenge of being given certain ingredients, then I must make something out of them. It’s been great for expanding my palate, and making me reach outside my comfort zone.

  11. Having a CSA share sounds like so much fun! Plus it makes for some really good eats!

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