Pickled cucumber with whipped goat's cheese, confit tomatoes and basil
This light, summery spread is perfect for a leisurely weekend lunch where you want something rich but full of veg. This recipe makes more basil vinaigrette than you'll need for four people, but it will keep well in the fridge for a few days.
Ingredients
Pickled cucumber ribbons
- 3 cucumbers , ends sliced off then finely sliced lengthwise on a mandolin
- 250ml of water
- 250ml of rice wine vinegar
- 50ml of white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp of cane sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
Confit tomatoes
- 300g of cherry tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 handful of fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
- 200ml of extra virgin olive oil, plus extra as needed
Basil vinaigrette
- 200ml of olive oil
- 1 bunch of fresh basil , leaves picked
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 small shallot , roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar
- salt , to taste
Whipped goat's cheese
- 300g of goat's cheese , diced
- 70g of cream cheese
- 3 garlic cloves
- zest of 1 lemon
Garnish
Method
Begin by preheating the oven to 130°C
Next, prepare the pickled cucumber. Combine all of the ingredients except for the cucumber ribbons in a bowl and whisk well until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the pickling liquor over the cucumber ribbons and set aside to pickle for 4–6 hours
For the confit tomatoes, add the tomatoes into a deep baking dish along with the garlic, thyme and balsamic vinegar
- 300g of cherry tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 handful of fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
Top with the olive oil, making sure they are almost fully submerged then roast for 1 hour, turning every now and then
- 200ml of extra virgin olive oil, plus extra as needed
Next make the basil vinaigrette. Combine all the ingredients in a high-powered blender and blitz for around 1 minute until smooth
- 200ml of olive oil
- 1 bunch of fresh basil , leaves picked
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 small shallot , roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar
Taste and season with salt as needed, then set aside until ready to plate
- salt , to taste
To make the whipped goat’s cheese, add the diced cheese to a food processor along with the cream cheese, garlic and lemon zest
- 300g of goat's cheese , diced
- 70g of cream cheese
- 3 garlic cloves
- zest of 1 lemon
Whip for a couple of minutes until smooth, then season with salt
Drizzle over the basil vinaigrette and serve
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Pickled cucumber with whipped goat's cheese, confit tomatoes and basil
