Herbs de Provence, Heirloom Tomato, Orange, & Italian Ham Bruschetta

INGREDIENTS:

1 half French baguette cut into 8 ½” slices

­1 3 oz. package Speck Italian Ham (at ALDI) or buy soft prosciutto

1, 4 oz. package honey goat cheese

¼ C Olive This! Herbs de Provence Oil + 1 T for tomato mixture

2 navel oranges (Need the zest, flesh, and juice)

1 pint, or 1 heaping C diced of heirloom cherry tomatoes

¼ C finely chopped Italian flat leaf parsley

½ T kosher salt + ¼ T black pepper

METHOD:

• In a small bowl combine the zest of one orange and the goat cheese. Let it reach room temperature. Combine well. Set aside.
• In a larger glass bowl, assemble the following: Take the orange you zested and cut off the peel, revealing only the flesh without any pith. Slice and then cut into small pieces. Cut the peel off the other orange and use a little more than half of the flesh cut into small chunks. Then use the remainder of the orange to squeeze out 1 – 2 T of the fresh juice. Cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters. Not too tiny but so that the orange pieces and tomatoes are the same size. Add the finely chopped parsley. Add the salt and pepper, and finally the Tbsp of Herbs de Provence oil. Mix well and set aside.
• Place the 8 slices of bread on a baking sheet and broil the first side until lightly toasted. Remove, turn over the bread, and take the ¼ C of oil and brush it generously on the untoasted side. Return to broiler and toast until a lovely brown and the oil is bubbling!
• To assemble, slather 1/8^th of the orange goat cheese on each toast, oil side up. Then a generous spoonful of the tomato, orange, and parsley mixture. Top with an artfully scrunched piece of the speck ham. Drizzle with a little more of the oil, and a light dusting of black pepper.
• Serve. Can cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours. After than the bread becomes too soggy.

NOTE: You can leave the ham off and serve without a meat. These also work well topped with roasted chicken or sliced cold roast beef for a truly elegant plate!