Basil, Goat Cheese and Harissa Oil Bites

I was wandering around Tysons Corner the other day and I came upon a store called Under the Olive Tree. A store featuring different Olive Oils and Balsamic Vinegars. I have been wanting to try one of these places forever so I ventured in and pretty much tried every thing they had to sample. I ended up buying 3 different infused oils, but I am just going to talk about one of them today, the Harissa Olive oil. It was delicious and I couldn't figure out what to do with it so I asked the lady working there and she suggested that I pair it with mozzarella or goat cheese with some basil.

I paired it with with both goat cheese and mozzarella and found that the goat cheese is the clear winner. This is a winning combo of flavors, the basil, goat cheese and spiceyness of the Harissa Oil are all perfect together. The mozzarella is not bad, but you need to eat it immediately for it to taste good, while the goat cheese does well sitting out for awhile-making it the perfect party food, although it will not last that long. This recipe doesn't have exact measurements, just "guesstimates" and is a good outline for making your own creation. If you don't have Harissa Oil, most olive oils will work, the Harissa just shines in this recipe. 

Basil, Goat Cheese and Harissa Bites

Ingredients
Baguette or French Bread
Olive Oil (in my case Harissa infused)
Fresh Basil
Goat Cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Thinly slice your bread and drizzle a little oil over each slice.
3. Spinkle some freshly chopped basil and then some crumbled goat cheese over each slice.
4. Bake for 5-10 depending on your preference for the crunchyness of the bread.


I also got the Versatile Blogger Award from Neshanne at Oishii Treats, so I wanted to thank her, and give her a little shout out to go check out her blog...especially her Stuffed Zucchini Canoes, will def be making a version of this over the summer!