Description

Pear and goat cheese crostini! A classic appetizer with the option for a unique twist: use quince instead of pear. A crowd-pleasing, festive dish, full of flavor, and easily made gluten-free.

Ingredients

Scale

Cinnamon Sautéed Pear (or Quince)

1 Bosc or Comice pear (or 1 quince)
2 teaspoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons honey

Crostini

1 baguette, thinly sliced into 1/2-inch slices on a diagonal (about 20 slices, see notes for gluten-free)
extra virgin olive oil
4 oz goat cheese, at room temperature
honey, for drizzling
fresh thyme and coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts for garnish, optional

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Instructions

Cinnamon Sautéed Pear (or Quince)

Wash, core, and thinly slice the pear or quince.
Melt 2 teaspoons coconut oil in a large cast-iron skillet or non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the quince slices and vanilla extract and sauté, gently stirring, until they just begin to soften.
Lower the heat, add a pinch of sea salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon of water (more if needed so that the slices don’t stick to the bottom of the pan). Continue stirring until softened and beginning to caramelize.
Add 2 teaspoons runny honey (or pure maple syrup), gently stir until all the quince slices are coated, and immediately remove from heat.

Crostini & Assembly

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly brush both sides of the baguette slices with extra virgin olive oil and arrange evenly on a baking sheet.
Bake 5-7 minutes, flip, and bake 5 minutes more or until just toasted.
Evenly spread goat cheese on each baguette round and top with a slice of cinnamon sautéed pear or quince.
Drizzle each crostini with a bit of honey and garnish with fresh thyme leaves and/or chopped hazelnuts, if desired.

Notes

To make this crostini gluten-free, simply use gluten-free bread in place of the baguette. If you can’t find a gluten-free baguette, sliced gluten-free dinner rolls work well. Alternatively, you could use your favorite gluten-free cracker in place of the bread.