Pistachio Crusted Fresh Goat Cheese with Baked Parsnips and Kiwi Fruit

This combination is a bit unique, but the flavors complement each other perfectly! Not only is the flavor wonderful, but is a beautiful appetizer or dessert that offers a taste of spring along with some comfort food mixed in. Yield two towers.  Double or triple ingredient amounts for a dinner party.

Ingredients

Baked Parsnips
1/4 lb. of parsnip root
Non-stick cooking spray
Sprinkle of kosher salt
Tower
1 – 4-5 oz. log of fresh goat cheese sliced in 6 even pieces
1/3 cup of pistachios finely chopped
Non-stick cooking spray
2 kiwi fruits peeled and thinly sliced
Honey
Garnish (optional)
1 blackberry cut in 1/2

Technique

Peel and thinly slice parsnip root. Place onto a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Spray each parsnip slice with additional non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until they begin to brown and get crispy. Remove and set aside.

Slice goat cheese into 6 even slices.  Place into finely chopped pistachios and pat until evenly coated on both sides.  Place onto a cookie sheet coated with non-stick spray.  Repeat with each goat cheese slice.  Place in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 6 minutes or until pistachios begin to brown and cheese begins to melt.  Remove and set aside. 

 Peel and thinly slice kiwi fruit.  Begin to plate by arranging 4 slices of kiwi and 4 parsnip slices around each plate, in an alternating pattern as shown.  In the middle place one of the pistachio goat cheese slices, then a slice of kiwi, then another slice of pistachio goat cheese, another piece of kiwi then top with a third slice of pistachio goat cheese. Finally place a parsnip chip on the top of the tower, drizzle with honey and garnish with a ½ blackberry if desired.

Suggested Beverage

Try McManis Family Vineyards Viognier (California), Vin du Lac of Chelan Viognier (Columbia Valley) or Yalumba Viognier (South Australia).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.