PREPARING A BLACKBERRY, THYME, AND GOAT CHEESE CROSTINI

September is the month when fruit becomes decadent! It’s right around the beginning of Fall that I like to make one of my favorite crostini on which blackberries and honey dance together with goat cheese and thyme. The combination is to die for!  These crostini are the perfect complement for a light-bodied wine with high acidity, low tannins, and berry flavors such as Beaujolais. 

Ingredients:

1 French Baguette

1 Log of fresh goat cheese

2 ½ cups of fresh blackberries

2 large sprigs of thyme

½ cup honey

1 cup of walnuts

Olive oil

Instructions:

1. Slice the baguette in half, drizzle with olive oil, and place it over a cookie sheet. Bake in the oven at 400* degrees for 5 minutes until crisp.
2. Mix the goat cheese, honey, thyme (keeping some for decoration on the side), and 1 ½ cups of blackberries until smooth.
3. Take the baguette from the oven and toast the walnuts for 5 minutes.
4. Spread the bread with the cheese mixture. Decorate with the remaining blackberries, the toasted nuts, and the thyme. Drizzle with honey.
5. Cut and serve.

I think these proportions create the perfect balance between the fruit’s tartness, the cheese’s intense flavor, and the sweetness of the honey. Still, you can decide to add or reduce the quantities while mixing them to enhance one or another as you please.