Goat's cheese, pistachio and blueberry canapés

This was the first canapé i made from this book, and this cookbook has become an obsession ever since. The very unusual combination comes together beautifully.

This is one of those visually beautiful dishes that you cannot stop eating. The salt from the cheese, the nuttiness from the pistachios and the sweet pop from the blueberries on crunchy toast or crackers come together on your palate. This is a wonderful canapé, one that sets the tone for the meal to come.

This is my favourite canapé book; it is a small, beautiful cookbook filled with wonderful recipes from a chef who understands the art of composing these perfect bites. The recipes are quite simple but always pop with flavour, and the photographs are stunning (trying to get there myself). If there is one canapé book on your shelf, this should be it.

For more recipes from this amazing cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh (soft) goat's cheese, like Boursin or chèvre

2 tablespoons pistachio butter, commercial or see recipe below

1 tablespoon honey

8-10 slices hard or aged goat's cheese

A handful pistachio nuts

A handful of blueberries

Sea salt and pepper to garnish

Hearty country leaf or baguette

Mix the soft goat's cheese, pistachio butter, and honey till well mixed.

Cut the bread into thin slices and toast. If using a baguette, cut it on the diagonal, and there's no need to toast it.

Spread the soft cheese. Layer with the hard goat's cheese slices and decoratively arrange the pistachio nuts and blueberries on top. Sprinkle some sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

Serve immediately so the toasts do not get soggy.

Pistachio butter:

Pistachio butter is readily available in India and in the US. However, if you want to make it, here is the recipe.

1/2 cup roasted salted pistachios, without their shells

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt, as needed

Powder the pistachios in a spice mill till as smooth as you like them; you can leave them a bit chunky if you so desire. Remove and mix in with the oil till you have a peanut-butter-like consistency. Taste for salt and adjust.