Beluga Lentil Crostini

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 lb black beluga lentils
• 1 sweet baguette, sliced thinly into 1/6th-inch rounds
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil or 1/3 cup melted clarified butter
• 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
• 8 ounces spreadable goat cheese
• 1 small splash milk
• 3 -4 large garlic cloves
• 2 big bunch chives
• more salt

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350.
• 2 cook the lentils: wash and pick over the lintils place the lentils in a large saucepan and cover with water using 2-3x the quantity of lentils.
• 3 bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes. lentils should be tender but not splitting and falling apart.
• 4 salt to taste at this point - i use somewhere between 2t. -1t. of salt for a pound of lentils.
• 5 remove from the heat and drain any remaining liquid. let cool.
• 6 make the garlic crostini: in a large bowl add the oil/butter and salt.
• 7 add all the sliced baguette rounds to the bowl and toss well. place rounds in a single layer across two baking sheets.
• 8 place in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until slightly golden.
• 9 remove and let cool.
• 10 cut the ends off the garlic cloves. take a single clove in your fingers and gingerly rub the top of each crostini with the garlic to give each slice a bit of a garlic kick. don't overdo it.
• 11 make the chive goat cheese spread: in a small bowl add the goat cheese and a small splash of milk (just enough to thin the cheese and make it spreadable).
• 12 with scissors, snip one bunch of chives into the goat cheese and stir to combine. set aside.
• 13 for assembly all ingredients should be at room temperature.
• 14 take each crostini and give it a spread of the goat-chive spread. top with a small spoonful of lentils.
• 15 garnish with more chopped chives (and pretty purple chive blossoms for the platter if you can find them).