How To Make Goat Cheese & Onion Jam Crostini

A good crostini can be a lifesaver for any sort of party or celebration. They require just a couple of simple and budget friendly ingredients that when thrown together, even haphazardly, look divine and taste heavenly. That’s why we thought when it comes to celebrating New Years over at LearnToCook, what better way than with a good ol’ fashioned crostini recipe. This one featuring an onion jam requires a bit more effort than most, but will still leave you plenty of time to do the rest of your cooking, cleaning and, of course, cocktailing. Once the onion jam is cooked and cooled, slather the toast points with creamy goat cheese, a big dollop of onion jam and an arugula accent for a fancy party bite.

Being a host is hard work! Make it easy on yourself by learning to cook our onion jam, goat cheese and arugula crostini.

Goat Cheese & Onion Jam Crostini Recipe

Crostini Ingredients:
8 oz goat cheese
1 bunch arugula
Onion jam (recipe follows)
Salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Onion Jam Ingredients:
4 tbsp unsalted butter
4 large sweet onions, preferably Vidalia
1 ½ cup red wine, pinot noir or chianti would work well!
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 sprigs fresh rosemary (optional)
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. Start by peeling the onions, halving them and cutting into thin slices-about a ¼ inch. You don’t want to slice too thinly because the onions will greatly reduce.

3. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter starts to froth, add the onions and stir to coat. Cook until the onions have softened and lightly caramelize—about 10 minutes. Add the red wine, rosemary and pinch of salt of pepper. Lower the heat to low and cook until the wine has reduced completely.

4. While the onion combination reduces, heat the honey in a small saucepan over medium heat until it turns a light caramel color-about 2 minutes. Add the red wine vinegar and simmer on low for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

5. When the onion/red wine combination has completely reduced, add in the vinegar/honey combination and stir to combine. Cook for an additional 12-15 minutes or until the mixture reaches a jam like consistency. Remove any large rosemary pieces. Set aside and allow to cool.

6. To assemble crostini, slice 1 inch rounds out of a baguette. Assemble on rack in oven and bake until toasted-about 5 minutes. Remove bread and slather with goat cheese, spread with onion jam and top with a couple sprigs of arugula. Repeat until you have your desired amount of crostinis. Onion jam will keep refrigerated for one week.

Special Thanks:
Talent: Erica Eckman of http://www.everythingerica.com/

Shot and edited by: Matt Rice

Royalty Free Music courtesy of Audio Network titled: “Winter Playground” By: David Tobin / Jeff Meegan / Mark Armstrong