Tomatoes & Goat Cheese & Balsamic-Coffee Reduction

Ingredients:

Heirloom Tomatoes with Goat Cheese and Balsamic/Coffee Reduction

A delightfully fresh summer appetizer, this dish was inspired by the goods available at my local market. When presented with such wonderful subjects, I find it difficult to resist making something with them - even if I don't eat raw tomatoes myself.

The balsamic-coffee reduction is only very slightly bitter, despite being so concentrated. The lemon zest comes through most strongly, along with a pleasant tartness from the balsamic vinegar. Coffee lends a mysterious earthiness and complexity to the finished sauce.

For the reduction:

- 1 cup freshly-brewed coffee
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- zest of one lemon

Step 1:

1 teaspoon honey

Step 2:

For the Tomatoes:

- A selection of heirloom tomatoes, preferably of varying colors and types
- 1 small log of goat cheese
- 1 Tablespoon freshly-ground coffee
- 1 Tablespoon freshly-ground pepper
- A selection of heirloom cherry/pear/plum tomatoes, preferably of varying colors
- Optional: fresh dill and cilantro

Step 3:

Start by setting up the reduction. Pour the coffee, vinegar, salt, and honey into a small saucepan. Zest the lemon directly into the saucepan using a microplane or other favored method.

Stir to combine and dissolve the honey, then simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally.

Step 4:

While that's cooking down, start on the tomatoes.

Step 5:

You want nice, flat two-bite-sized pieces. Make them slightly larger in diameter than your log of goat cheese, and at least a half inch thick. Preferably thicker. Remove seeds where necessary, though these particular heirlooms weren't terribly seedy.

Step 6:

Combine the pepper and ground coffee on a small plate.

Unwrap the goat cheese and roll it partially in the pepper/coffee mix, giving it a striped appearance.

Step 7:

Rolled:

Step 8:

Prepare some of the smaller cherry, plum, and/or pear tomatoes by washing and cutting them.

Step 9:

By now, the reduction should be very thick, clinging to the bottom of the saucepan and foaming as it simmers.

Step 10:

Time to build! Start with your chunks of heirloom tomatoes:

Step 11:

Slice a thin piece of goat cheese for each piece of tomato.

Step 12:

Top with one half of a cherry/plum/pear tomato, then drizzle the reduction liberally over all. Optionally, top each piece of tomato with a sprig of fresh herb. I chose not to due to the preference of my diners.