Goat Cheese Baked in Tomato Sauce
Tangy, creamy goat cheese is baked in a rich & flavorful tomato sauce and served with crostini - one of my favorite tapas dishes!
Servings: 4 to 6
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 14 oz fire roasted crushed tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
- 3 oz goat cheese
- ½ large french baguette (about 16 half-inch slices)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan/pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent & slightly softened, about 6-8 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper & crushed red pepper flakes and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the sauce simmers, preheat the broiler and slice the baguette into half inch slices on a diagonal. Lightly drizzle, spray or brush both sides with olive oil. Arrange on a baking sheet and broil until golden brown on both sides - about 2-3 minutes on the first side and 30 seconds on the second side. (Note: These times are estimated based on my broiler, but broilers vary widely so keep an eye on the crostini the whole time you're toasting the bread - it can go from perfectly golden to burnt in a matter of seconds!) When the crostini is finished, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- When the sauce has finished simmering, transfer it to an oven safe ramekin or small baking dish. Slice the goat cheese into 3 pieces and nestle the pieces down into the center of the sauce. Bake on a foil-lined baking sheet for 15 minutes, until sauce is bubbling and goat cheese is warm, softened and slightly brown on top. Allow to cool slightly and serve with crostini!
Notes
I definitely recommend fire roasted crushed tomatoes over plain crushed tomatoes for this recipe, they have so much more flavor! I buy the Muir Glen brand that comes in a 28 oz. can, and I use half of the can for this recipe. Fire roasted diced tomatoes can be easier to find and can be substituted, but I would recommend blending them up a little in the food processor or blender first because otherwise it won't be saucy enough.