Tartine Tuesday: Honey Drizzled Beets with Lemon-Tarragon Goat Cheese Tartines

I never thought I would like beets. Even just recently I made a comment to Quentin about how they aren't my favorite thing... and how I never really liked them. But this year I'm attempting to give a second chance all those things I loathed as a food-ignorant adolescent.

Turns out (unsurprisingly) that there are a lot of things I didn't like back then that I love now... red wine, olives, black pepper (freshly cracked of course). Don't even get me started on cheese. I actually refused to eat cheese unless it was bright yellow, square shaped, and wrapped in individual clear plastic sheets. I'm so glad I grew out of that phase.

I gave beets a second shot. Hell, I was basically dreaming of this recipe in my sleep last night.

I roasted the bloody beauty and paired it with tangy goat cheese, lemon zest, and my new favorite herb; tarragon. The tart, fresh goats cheese balances beautifully with the earthy sweetness of the beets. The lemon zest brightens up all the flavors and the tarragon adds a woodsy licorice note that makes my knees weak. Damn, I love tarragon. A little sweet drizzle of honey at the end took it right over the top.

These tartines are bloody delicious.

Honey Drizzled Beets with Lemon-Tarragon Goat Cheese Tartines

6 slices of bread, toasted

1 medium sized beet (uncooked & with the skin on)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 pinch of large grain sea salt

200 grams fresh goat's cheese

1 sprig of fresh tarragon (or roughly 2 pinches of whole dried tarragon leaves), chopped

zest of 1 small lemon

honey, to taste

freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

To Roast the Beet:

 

Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit (205° Celsius). 

Rub the beet with vegetable oil and sea salt. 

Place in a roasting pan with about an inch of water in the bottom and cover with aluminum foil. Roast in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until a knife slides easily into the beet.

Remove from the oven and let cool before peeling. Once cooled, peel and slice into a medium dice or bite-sized pieces.

To Make the Lemon-Tarragon Goat Cheese Spread:

In a bowl, mix together the goat cheese, tarragon, and lemon zest until combined. Add freshly cracked pepper to taste. Cover with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator until the beet is cooled and prepped.

Spread goat cheese mixture on toasts and top with the roasted beet. Drizzle honey on top. Serves 2.

Tartine Tuesday: Goat Cheese, Caramelized Onion, and Balsamic Fig Tartines

This is for all my friends out there who, like me, adore goat cheese. You're welcome.

Originally, I wanted to make these tartines with fresh mission figs. It was only about a year ago when I had my very first taste of fresh fig. I know, I know, how could that be?! Well, growing up there were always Fig Newtons at my Grandmother's house. She loved(and still does) them, but I was never really a fan. I guess I figured fresh figs would taste the same. Wow, was I wrong.

While living in Atlanta, I noticed two large mission fig trees growing near my urban vegetable garden in our apartment complex. Being a lover of all things food(especially free food) I gave a stab at trying one fresh off the tree. Wow. I picked a handful, brought them back to my apartment and made roasted figs with goat cheese, and prosciutto. Even wow-er. Okay, so now I like figs.

So today I went looking for some fresh mission figs at the supermarket, but could only find dried Turkish figs. I figured I could improvise.

I saved the left over duck fat from last night's magret de canard(duck breast) that Quentin so deliciously cooked for us, and spent most of the night brainstorming on how I could use it. I thought to myself, "Figs go well with goat cheese, goat cheese goes well with caramelized onions, onions + duck fat = yum, and duck goes well with fig."

Bingo.

Goat Cheese, Caramelized Onions, and Balsamic Fig Tartines

6 slices of bread (or about 10 slices of baguette), toasted
2 medium sized yellow onions, sliced
1 tablespoon of duck fat(you can also use bacon grease, or just butter and olive oil)
6-8 turkish figs, dried
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon of honey
fresh goat's cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Slice the dried figs in half and place in a small bowl. Pour boiling water over the figs until just covered, and let steep for 10-15 minutes.

In a medium-sized sauté pan or frying pan, heat a tablespoon of duck fat on medium-high heat. Once heated, add the onions and stir to coat the onions with fat. Spread the onions out evenly over the pan and reduce heat to medium. Stir every 10 minutes or so, until the onions are softened and brown. This will take about 30 to 45 minutes.

Remove figs from the hot water(save the water) and scoop out the seeds and pulp with a spoon. In a small saucepan, add the fig seeds and pulp, balsamic vinegar, honey, 1/3 cup of the water the figs were steeping in, and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 5-10 minutes, until thickened.

Spread fresh goat's cheese on toasts and top with freshly cracked black pepper. Spoon balsamic fig reduction over the goat cheese and top with caramelized onions. Add a little slice of dried fig to the top for presentation. Serves 2.