Goat’s cheese and chicory crostini with balsamic pickled shallots

Method

1. Peel and halve the shallots, put in a glass or ceramic bowl, toss in the salt, then set aside for 1 hour. Rinse well to remove the salt.
2. Gently warm the remaining pickling ingredients in a heavy-based pan over a low heat to dissolve the sugar, then bring up to a fast simmer. Remove from the heat, add the rinsed shallots, then set aside to cool before transferring to your sterilised jar.
3. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Cut the sourdough into bite-size pieces, put on a baking tray and drizzle with a little olive oil. On a separate baking tray, toss the sliced chicory and thyme with a little olive oil and spread out. Put both baking trays in the oven and cook the bread for 5-8 minutes until crisp, then remove to cool. After 8 minutes, drizzle a little honey over the chicory, then return to the oven for 2 minutes until lightly charred. Set aside to cool.
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4. For the parsley drizzle, in a small bowl whisk together the 3 tbsp olive oil with 2 tbsp of the onion pickling juice, 2 tbsp honey, the chopped parsley and a little black pepper.
5. To assemble the crostini, top each piece of toasted sourdough with some charred chicory, a wedge of goat’s cheese, a slice of pickled onion and a drizzle of dressing.