CROWD P L E A S E R. I have made these for my family for years and they are always a hit. The base is a lightly crispy, equally soft baguette topped with a creamy roasted garlic cream cheese, fresh bruschetta, sweet balsamic glaze, and fresh basil.
Roasted Garlic Cream Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 head garlic
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil
- 8 oz vegan cream cheese (I use the Kite Hill brand)
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the tip off of the head of garlic to expose the cloves (this will make it easy to remove the cloves once roasted and soft). Rub or spray the head of garlic with a little oil, place in square of aluminum foil, and roast for about 30 minutes. You will know the garlic is ready when your home is perfumed with the lovely aroma of roasted garlic. Once done, remove the aluminum foil wrapped head of garlic from the oven and set aside to cool.
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Once the head of garlic is completely cooled, remove from the aluminum foil. Next, mix the vegan cream cheese with the roasted garlic cloves. To remove the roasted garlic cloves, gently squeeze the garlic out from the skin.
Classic Bruschetta
Ingredients
- 6-8 roma tomatoes
- 3/4 cup fresh basil
- salt to taste pink himalayan
- pepper to taste finely, freshly ground
Instructions
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Cut the tomatoes into a small dice.
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Chiffonade the basil and add to the diced tomatoes.
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Add salt and pepper to taste (I like to add a pinch of salt and lots of pepper).
Balsamic Glaze
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons coconut palm sugar
Instructions
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Add the balsamic vinegar and coconut palm sugar to a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved.
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Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until glaze is reduced by half, about 15 minutes.
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Once cool, I like to add the glaze to a squeeze bottle so I can make a pretty drizzle on top of the crostini, but this is completely optional.
Caprese Crostini
Instructions
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To prepare the baguette — Cut the baguette into centimeter sized slices (I have tried these with thin and thick slices of baguette and both are yum, so totally up to your preference).
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Place the slices of baguette on a parchment lined or silicone baking sheet. Spray or coat with a touch of oil and bake for 2-3 minutes on each side until slightly golden (I prefer the toasts to be underdone rather than super crispy, again totally your preference).
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To assemble the crostini — Add a spoonful of the garlic cream cheese to the toasted slice of bread. Add a spoonful of the bruschetta on top of the cream cheese. Drizzle with the balsamic glaze. Garnish with a chiffonade of basil.
