Strawberry Cheese Tartine Recipe

If you like soft, rich, creamy cheeses, you’ve probably discovered triple creme cheeses like St. Andre and double creme cheeses like brie. Double creme cheeses are between 60 and 75% butterfat. Triple creme cheeses are over 75% butterfat. Saint Angel from Fromagerie Guilloteau is something in the middle. It’s 71% butterfat, so technically it's a double creme cheese, but it has a texture much more similar to a triple creme cheese. 

Fromagerie Guilloteau the maker of Fromager d’Affinois cheeses including Saint Angel uses a process of “ultrafiltration” of milk, which not only shortens the aging time, but helps the cheese to retain a higher concentration of protein and calcium. Saint Angel is a white bloomy rind cow's milk cheese with fairly mild and subtle flavor but a little bit of tang and an intensely silky texture. It’s easy to spread and when I read that it was recommended with grilled bread or summer berries, I knew immediately how I was going to use it. 

I love the idea of tartines or bruschetta with breakfast instead of plain old toast and jam. I first had breakfast bruschetta in Hawaii at Koko Head Cafe. Chef Lee Anne Wong makes sugary Japanese style rusks and tops them with Greek yogurt, local fruit and some grated toasted macadamia nuts. I went even an simpler route for this treat. I just toasted baguette slices, spread them generously with Saint Angel cheese and topped them with slices of fresh strawberries. Voila! If you can’t find Saint Angel cheese, you could certainly try this with another double or triple creme cheese. I do think using a sweet baguette is key. You want a mild bread that doesn’t compete with the contrast of the tangy cheese and the sweetness of the berries. Because this uses French bread and French cheese, I’m calling it a tartine rather than bruschetta, but either name is fine. 

Strawberry Cheese Tartine

Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients 

12 slices sweet baguette slices, cut about 1/3 inch thick

About 12 ripe, sweet strawberries, each cut into 3-4 slices, lengthwise 

6 ounces Saint Angel cheese (or another soft mild double or triple creme cheese)

Instructions 

Toast the slices of baguette until just lightly golden, not brown. Spread the slices thickly with cheese and top each slice with about 3 - 4 slices of strawberry. 

Enjoy! 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Fromagerie Guilloteau for sending me a sample of Saint Angel cheese. I was not compensated monetarily for this or any other post on Cooking with Amy

Mango Cucumber Salad Recipes

Ok here's a crazy idea, one basic salad that can be either sweet or savory. I was trying to think of what to do with some mangoes coming my way from the National Mango Board this week and then I saw a tweet from @SimpleGourmetLA with the idea for a "mojito cucumber, mango and strawberry salad." It occurred to me that both cucumber and mango could go either way--sweet or savory.

I'm always looking for ways to use common ingredients in slightly unexpected ways. Here the twist is using cucumber in a sweet fruit salad and using sweet mango in a savory salad. English cucumber is available year round and does not need to be peeled. It has a very mild flavor and a fine texture without big slippery seeds. Best of all, it has a terrific crunch! I used the most commonly available mango, the Tommy Atkins variety in both salads. It's not a very tropical, luscious or creamy mango, but more of a workhorse, with citrus-like flavor, able and willing to stand up to whatever you demand of it. It's a bit on the firm side so it's particularly good in salads.

For the sweet salad I combined cucumber, mango and strawberries and for the savory version, cucumber, mango and radishes. You might recognize the ingredients from the savory salad as being similar to what you find Mexican street vendors selling. Each salad is flavored with lime, but the sweet salad gets a touch of honey and mint, the savory salad, a pinch of salt and green onion. Both are bursting with juiciness, crunch and Summery flavors and would be great at a picnic. I'd serve the savory salad with grilled fish or chicken. I'd serve the sweet salad with a scoop of sorbet or just a couple of cookies.


Mango, Cucumber, Strawberry Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Tommy Atkins mango, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1/2 large English cucumber, cut into chunks
1 pint strawberries, trimmed and cut in chunks
Juice of a fresh lime, squeezed
2 teaspoons honey
2 sprigs chopped fresh mint leaves, about 12 leves

Instructions

In a mixing bowl combine the lime and honey and stir until smooth. Add the mango, cucumber, strawberries and mix. Sprinkle with mint and taste for seasoning before serving.


Mango, Cucumber, Radish Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Tommy Atkins mango, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1/2 large English cucumber, cut into chunks
1 bunch radishes, trimmed and cut into chunks
1 green onion, thinly sliced
Juice of a fresh lime, squeezed
Pinch kosher salt

Instructions

In a mixing bowl combine the lime and salt and stir until dissolved. Add the mango, cucumber, radishes and mix. Sprinkle with green onions and taste for seasoning before serving.

Enjoy!