Creamy and tangy goats cheese on garlic rubbed toast topped with buttery mushrooms and a splash of balsamic vinegar for depth of flavour. I love the sweet pairing of tarragon to finish this dish but any fresh herbs, like parsley or dill, work great too.
Total time to make : 20 minutes Time to prep : 5 minutes
Servings : 2 - 3
Ingredients
2 tbsp butter
1 shallot (or 1/2 an onion)
4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves plucked
300g mushrooms, mixed (I used oyster, shiitake and chestnut), roughly chopped
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Slices of your preferred bread (I like this on a thick cut sourdough)
2 x garlic cloves, to rub on toast
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
125g goats cheese
60g cream cheese
Salt and pepper, to season
Fresh herbs such as tarragon or parsley, to garnish
Method
To make the whipped goats cheese, put the goats cheese, cream cheese, 1 tbsp olive oil and juice of 1/2 a lemon in a small food processor or blender. Blitz until smooth, season with salt and pepper.
For the balsamic mushrooms, heat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Melt the butter in the frying pan and once it starts bubbling, add in the shallot, thyme and a good pinch of salt. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes until soft and translucent.
Add in the roughly chopped mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes until the mushrooms are tender and golden. At this stage, add in the balsamic vinegar and stir to mix through. Remove from the heat, allow to cool slightly whilst you toast the bread and then taste for seasoning, add more salt if necessary.
Once your bread is toasted and still warm, rub over a clove of garlic on each side of the bread. Spread on the whipped cream cheese and top with the warm balsamic mushrooms. Finish with fresh herbs and black pepper.
Nutritional Information
516 calories
19g protein, 6g carbs, 47g fat
Good to know:
The whipped goats cheese is an extra step (and very worth it if you have the time), but if you don't or don't have a food processor - you can skip it out or simply spread goats cheese or cream cheese over the garlic toast.
Lemon thyme is also really nice here, instead of regular thyme.
Vegetarian. Use olive oil instead of butter for the mushrooms and skip out the goats cheese to make it dairy free or vegan.
You can store any extra balsamic mushrooms in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Can be enjoyed cold or warm, I like using them in omelettes.
You can store any extra whipped goats cheese in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.