Summertime Tomato and Corn Crostini

Don't you just love tomato season??

The end of summer is the perfect marriage of tomatoes and corn being in season. This is the time of year when tomatoes taste sweet and hearty. I can eat one like an apple! I look for any reason to eat them at every meal. Corn is really sweet this time of year as well, and the mixture of corn and tomatoes is absolute perfection. They are both sweet, but in a very different way. Tomatoes are acidic and tender, while corn is almost like candy with a nice pop of the kernel crunch.

I'm also convinced that almost anything on top of bread and cheese can taste good. Crostini has become my favorite go-to appetizer because it is a blank canvas to create a masterpiece on. For this summertime crostini I started with tart and creamy goat cheese, layered it with lemony basil pesto, then sweet grilled corn, acidic tomatoes, and topped it off with herbaceous parsley. It is summertime on a piece of bread!

These make great appetizers, but to be honest my husband and I can eat these as a meal.

Summertime Tomato and Corn Crostini

Author:

Maria Provenzano

Serves:

15-20 slices

Ingredients

1 cups sliced tomatoes
1 cup fresh corn; corn on the cob or frozen corn works
1-2 tablespoons chopped parsley
4-6 ounces goat cheese; room temperature
lemony basil pesto (recipe on www.MariaProvenzano.com)
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 baguette

Instructions

*Coat the corn on the cob with olive oil and place on a preheated grill; turn every few minutes until all sides are cooked (the corn can also be cut off the cob and cooked in a sauté pan instead)
*Allow to cool; then cut the corn off the cob and place in a large bowl
*Add in the sliced tomatoes
*Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil, chopped parsley, and toss together
*Salt and pepper to taste
*Slice the baguette into about 1 inch slices on an angle
*Drizzle with olive oil on both sides with each slice; place each slice of bread on the hot grill
*Cook until lightly golden, then flip the the other side; this can happen quickly so don't plan on walking away from the grill
*If you don't have a grill, place the bread on a baking sheet and place under the broiler in your oven until the bread is golden; this also happens quickly!
*Spread a little goat cheese (however much you like) onto each slice of the grilled bread
*Spread about teaspoon or so of pesto over the goat cheese
*Top the bread with the tomato and corn mixture
*Sprinkle with any extra parsley; optional
*Serve!