Description
Cranberry Pesto on baguette with chevre- a delicious and easy holiday appetizer!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1/2 cup chevre at room temperature, 4 oz.
- 1/4 cup cream cheese at room temperature, 2 oz.
- 3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, divided
- 1 large clove garlic, peeled
- 1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
- 1 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup toasted walnuts
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, preferably freshly grated
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
- 1/4 cup best-quality extra-virgin olive oil
- Freshly cracked pepper, to taste
- 24 slices baguette, toasted *see tip
Instructions
- Mix chevre and cream cheese together in a small bowl. Stir in ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Pulse the garlic in food processor until finely chopped. Add cranberries and pulse until roughly chopped. Add basil, walnuts, and red pepper flakes, process until blended but still chunky.
- Place mixture in a bowl, stir in the Parmesan cheese, parsley, oil, pepper and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt until blended.
- Spread 1 teaspoon chevre mixture on each baguette slice and top with 1 tablespoon of the cranberry pesto.
Notes
To Make Toasted Baguette:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice baguette and lay on a baking sheet. Brush lightly with a little oil if desired. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until toasted. They will dry and crisp up even more as they cool.
Make Ahead:
Toasted baguette can be toasted, cooled completely and kept in a resealable plastic bag up to two days in advance.
Since homemade pesto doesn’t contain any preservatives, it won’t last nearly as long as regular pesto. Make sure to store it covered in the fridge (preferably in an air-tight container). This way it will last 4 to 5 days.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Category: appetizer
- Method: no cook
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 appetizer
- Calories: 126
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 232 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 17 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g