chorizo, nutella, sour cheese and pickled apple crostini

chorizo and nutella crostini with pickled apples and labneh

A few years ago I started to make a party canape that was essentially a crostini smeared with Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread) and topped with a crisp slice of Spanish chorizo sausage. While some people were a bit suspicious of the combination of cured pork with chocolate, they were usually won over by the flavour. What it lacked in sophistication, it definitely made up for in taste. It is, if I say so myself, a bit fabulous.

The reason why I think it works is because of the synchronicity in “companion eating” - serving meat with the kind of fruit or vegetables the animal might once have eaten - so venison with blackberries, or pork with apple and nuts. The peppery spices in the chorizo also seem to have an affinity with both hazelnuts and chorizo.

But while I was happy with the result, I have decided to revisit it. The smoky, spice flavours of paprika-drenched chorizo can only be improved by giving the sweet hazelnut and chocolate spread a dollop of sour homemade labneh cheese and pickled apples or pears. Seriously, don’t just take my word for it!

Skill level: Easy

ingredients:
artisan bread, such as sourdough
olive oil and butter
Nutella (or other chocolate-hazelnut spread)
cured Spanish chorizo sausage
labneh (see tips below) or ricotta cheese
pickled apple or pear slices (see tips below)

directions:

1. Slice bread thinly (about 5mm to 1cm thick). Cut out shapes with a pastry cutter. Brush on each slide with a mixture of melted butter and olive oil. Toast each side for about 2 minutes until lightly browned. 
2. Gently fry slices of chorizo in olive oil and butter, until warmed through but not crisp. 
3. Very lightly toast and allow to cool.
4. Top each crostini with pickled apple, a dollop of labneh and a piece of chorizo, coated with Nutella.

tips:

• To make labneh sour cheese: Place 500g of natural yoghurt with ½ tsp salt in a sieve lined with 3 layers of muslin, cheesecloth or J-cloths, suspended over a bowl. Leave the yoghurt for at least 4 hours (or overnight in the fridge) to drain. You will be left with a soft creamy cheese, which is thick enough to hold its shape. Pull off pieces of cheese and roll into bite sized balls. 
• To make the pickled apple or pears: Gently heat 1 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp white wine vinegar and 2 tbsp sugar until sugar has dissolved. Tip in peeled apple slices and set aside until ready to use (30 minutes is fine).