Serves 4-6
1/2 # mixed olives (mostly kalamata, but not regular black olives)
1/4 cup capers, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 small-medium garlic cloves, finely minced
1 Tbl lemon juice
grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp pink peppercorns, roughly chopped
pinch crushed red pepper flakes
about 24 French bread crostini (from about 1/3 baguette)
about 4 oz goat cheese (make sure it’s creamy, not crumbly)
Remove the pits from the olives, then slice the olive flesh into long slivers. (I do this as one step, making four length-wise slices against the central pit to create four ‘petals’ of olive flesh, which I then slice length-wise into slivers.) Mix the sliced olives with the capers, olive oil, minced garlic, lemon juice and zest, crushed peppercorns and red pepper flakes. Store refrigerated in an air-tight container up to 1 week.
Top each crostini with a dollop (about 1/2 Tbl) goat cheese, and then a dollop (about 1/2 Tbl) of the olive mixture. I like to position the goat cheese toward one side of the crostini, then smear it a bit towards the other end, and place the olive mixture on the other side, over the smear, which should keep it from slipping. Serve immediately.
