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Crostini with Goat Cheese, Cherries and Wine Reduction
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 10 mins
 
These polenta crostini were created especially for our friend Linda, who is gluten intolerant, and served for a “Film to Table” extravaganza at the Unitarian Fellowship in Aptos. They were such a hit that we decided to include them in our menu!
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: California Wine Country
Author: Barbara
Ingredients
Polenta
  • 1 cup polenta optional use 1 or more premade cylinder of polenta (I used Trader Joes for these pictures)
  • 2 cups water
Wine Reduction
  • 1 bottle or less Pinot Noir that is past its prime starting turn to vinegar, or on the acidic side
  • 2 tbls raw local honey
  • ½ cup dried pitted Montmorency Cherries I use Trader Joes
  • Goat Cheese
  • 1 10.5 oz pkg soft goat cheese
  • 2 tbls honey
  • 1-3 tbls heavy cream
Adornment
  • Soaked Cherries
  • ½ cup pine nuts
  • 2 sprigs fresh mint
Instructions
Polenta
  1. Bring Water to a boil, add salt. Slowly add the polenta stirring continually until the polenta is thickened. Continue cooking until the polenta has used all of the water and is relatively dry. Oil a cookie sheet, spoon the polenta onto the cookie sheet, spreading it so that the surface is flat. Chill the polenta for a few hours until firm. Slice the polenta into squares or triangles.
  2. If you’re using premade polenta, slide each cylinder into about 16 slices, start by dividing the cylinder into half.
  3. Oil a large griddle, heat to high, place the polenta rounds or squares onto the griddle. Fry each side until lightly browned and gently crisp.
  4. Meanwhile prepare the wine reduction.
Wine Reduction
  1. Put the bottle of wine in a saucepan. Toss in the cherries and honey.
  2. Heat the wine and begin to reduce. After the cherries appear hydrated, remove the cherries.
  3. Cook down until the sauce is substantially thickened, to about ½” from the bottom of the pan.
Goat Cheese
  1. In a bowl, to the goat cheese add the 2 tablespoons of honey and whip in the heavy cream. The cheese should be softer and fluffier, very lightly sweet and easy to spread.
Adornment
  1. While the wine is reducing, brown the pine nuts in a frying pan, making sure that they do not burn. They’re fragile and brown quickly. Try not to be impatient.
  2. Chiffonade the mint leaves.
Assembly
  1. To the toasted polenta pieces, spread a hearty teaspoon or more of goat cheese. Top with 4-5 rehydrated cherries.
  2. Top the cherries with pine nuts. Drizzle the wine reduction. Top with a light sprinkling of mint.
Recipe Notes

Serve and eat immediately. These lose their lovely appearance if they sit too long. You can also serve these on bread, and you can mix the cherries with the wine reduction and then top the cheese with them.