Fig Nectarine Crostini with Lemon Thyme Whipped Goat Cheese

Summer snacking couldn't be easier with my Fig Nectarine Crostini with Lemon Thyme Whipped Goat Cheese. Oh, and that honey balsamic glaze is *chef's kiss* the icing on the cake, er, crostini. 

Our fig tree has grown so much since last summer, it is easily 15 feet now and has hundreds of figs in different stages of ripeness. I love it, since we love adding figs to oatmeal, salads, eating right off the tree before the birds and our dog gets them. Figs are safe for dogs to eat, but not too many at a time. We keep an eye on her and make sure she isn't eating a ton of them. 

Our stone fruit trees have a ton of fruit on them as well this summer. Nectarine, white nectarine, peach, white donut peach and plum. I love how I can walk out to my backyard to pick fruit. Its taken us a few years to get our trees mature enough to produce more than one to two pieces of fruit, but it has been well worth the wait. 

Once in awhile I get to make an actual recipe for my blog with the fruit from my yard like this Fig Nectarine Crostini, because by some miracle we didn't eat it all as soon as we picked it off our trees. I always have these grand plans for recipes with our backyard garden haul, and we end up just stuffing our faces before recipes ever get tested and photographed. Almost every summer I have grand plans for the produce we grow, and we end up eating most of it before I can even think about making a recipe. That is what summer is all about though, enjoying the moment and not worrying about plans. 

I love using fresh herbs with recipes like this. We have herbs growing in our garden, our best luck has always been with basil. Other herbs tend to be a bit more delicate in our heat so I tend to buy fresh herbs from the store Anything I don't use in recipes I dry and add to a jar to use later. Fresh herbs really make a difference. With this recipe you can control the strength of the thyme with how much you use and how fine you puree it with the goat cheese spread. 

I love recipes like this fig nectarine crostini for summertime snacking. You can make the goat cheese and honey balsamic glaze ahead of time so when your fruit is ripe you can quickly assemble the crostini. These fig nectarine crostini are great for summertime picnics, party appetizers or just for a fun, fancy snack. 

You can find white balsamic vinegar at any well stocked grocery store or specialty oil and vinegar store. If you can't find the white grape vinegar you can use white wine but it will be a very different flavor. 

Fig Nectarine Crostini with Lemon Thyme Whipped Goat Cheese

Shanna

Fig and Nectarine Crostini Recipe with Lemon Thyme Whipped Goat Cheese and a honey lemon balsamic glaze.

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Ingredients

  

• 1 Baguette
• 1-2 tablespoon Olive Oil
• 2-3 Ripe but still firm Nectarines sliced into thin wedges
• 8-12 Fresh Turkish Figs sliced into thin circles ( about 3-4 a fig, depending on size of fig)

For the glaze:

• ½ C White Balsamic Vinegar
• ½ C White Grape Vinegar
• ⅓ C honey
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice

For the goat cheese spread:

• 6 Oz Goat Cheese softened
• 1 tablespoon honey optional
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3-4 teaspoon Fresh Thyme

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 425 Deg F

Make the Balsamic Glaze first:

•  Combine the balsamic vinegar, white grape vinegar, honey and lemon juice in a sauce pan and stir over medium heat until combined. Raise the heat to bring to a simmer and reduce to ⅓ the volume, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a glass cup or bowl and let cool to room temp ( around 65-70 deg F). You can pop this into the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to cool faster.  The glaze will thicken further upon cooling.

Toast the baguette:

•  Wrap the baguette in foil and bake for 6-8 minutes to warm up. Let cool then cut into ½ inch diagonal slices. About 25 slices depending on length of baguette. Brush both sides lightly with olive oil then place on a baking pan. Bake the baguette slices 3-4 minutes until starting to crisp up. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Make the goat cheese spread:

• In a food processor or combine the goat cheese, salt, lemon juice, honey (if you want the goat cheese spread to be sweet) 1-2 teaspoons of the fresh thyme. Process until smooth and creamy. 

Assemble the crostini:

• Spread a tablespoon or so of the goat cheese on one side of each toasted baguette slice. Top with alternating slices of fig and nectarine, drizzle a teaspoon or so of the balsamic glaze on top and a few sprinkles of fresh thyme. Serve immediately. 

Notes

You can make both the whipped goat cheese and balsamic glaze ahead of time. Keep the prepared whipped goat cheese chilled, once ready to use bring to cool room temperature and whip again. Keep the balsamic glaze in a lidded jar or bowl at room temperature. If refrigerated it will firm up and need to be reheated slightly. 

Happy summer!