Fried Goat Cheese & Heirloom Tomato Toasts are an amazing meal you can enjoy for breakfast, lunch or dinner. This vegetarian recipe is loaded with fried goat cheese (need I say more?!), ripe heirloom tomatoes, creamy avocados and sweet balsamic reduction for a fresh meal bursting with flavor.
When I got my last Bountiful Basket add-on of heirloom tomatoes, I was bursting with excitement. It had been years since I have enjoyed heirloom tomatoes in some of the fine-dining restaurants I worked at in college. Needless to say, they are not readily available in our small town. So when the opportunity to buy a half case arose, I pounced on it.
I was literally dreaming up ways to put these bad boys to good use the minute I placed my order. That Saturday, as I was standing in the freezing temps on a cold Minnesota morning, I did it happily, because it meant I was about to enjoy some real tomato flavor in what was still winter. I loathe the whitish orange hard tomatoes that lack any real resemblance of tomatoes in the winter. So the chance to get my hands on some REAL tomatoes was beyond exciting. They arrived in beautiful shades of yellow, green, orange, red and purple. They were almost too beautiful to cut in to!
When trying to decide exactly how I would savor these beauties, I figured why not pair them with some of my all-time favorites?!
Goat cheese, √ check
Wait…fried goat cheese, even better!
Syrupy balsamic reduction, √ check
Avocado, √ check
I piled it all on a toasted multi-grain bread and devoured it immediately. The warm and creamy goat cheese oozing out of the crispy breaded shell onto the sweet tomatoes and creamy avodaco were almost too much to take in at once. Almost…
If you have the opportunity to snag some heirloom tomatoes, DO IT! If you don’t have access to them, you could still enjoy this fantastic creation with some ripe garden or farmer’s market tomatoes this summer.
Fried Goat Cheese & Heirloom Tomato Toasts
Ingredients
- 4 thick slices multi-grain bread toasted
- 1 avocado
- 2 heirloom tomatoes
- 4 oz. goat cheese
- 1/4 c. flour
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 egg
- 1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 c. olive oil
- 1/4 c. balsamic reduction
Instructions
- Slice your 4oz. log of goat cheese into four even thin pieces. Place them on a piece of cling wrap and seal. Freeze them for at least 2 hours or until solid.
- In a shallow bowl combine the flour, salt and pepper. In a second bowl whisk the egg and in a third seperate bowl add your panko bread crumbs.
- Remove the goat cheese pieces from the freezer and one at a time dip them in the flour, then egg and lastly panko bread crumbs, being sure to coat all sides evenly.
- In a small skillet over high heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and swirl around to coat the pan. Add two of the breaded goat cheese pieces to the hot oil. Turn the pieces after 40-60 seconds on each side, or golden brown. Be sure and fry each side, including the edges, well so the goat cheese doesn't run out. Place the fried goat cheese on a paper towel.
- Repeat the process by adding the remaining olive oil and goat cheese pieces to the pan.
- Meanwhile, top each toasted piece of bread with slices of avocado, tomato, fried goat cheese and a tablespoon of balsamic reduction. Serve immediately.
More vegetarian goat cheese dishes!
Roasted Squash and Goat Cheese Pasta
Strawberry Basil & Honey Goat-Cheese Quesadillas
Goat Cheese & Pesto Veggie Scramble
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