Baked Goats Cheese Dip with Bruschetta Caponata Relish

An easy crowd pleasing appetizer, baked goats cheese dip topped with our bruschetta caponata relish and served with toasted baguette slices.  Goats cheese is mixed in a food processor with cream cheese, parmesan cheese, garlic and olive oil to make a creamy dip.  You will want to bake this in the oven for approximately 15 minutes, you don't want to overbake the goats cheese as it can become grainy in texture if overcooked.  

Baked Goats Cheese Dip with Bruschetta Caponata Relish Recipe

Ingredients:

8 ounces Vermont Creamery Goat Cheese (make sure to use a high quality goats cheese)
4 ounces cream cheese
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cloves Garlic (evenly chopped)
2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for coating at the end
1 Cup Wozz! Bruschetta Caponata Relish
Fresh oregano for garnish

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a small sauté pan on medium heat, add the garlic and gently fry until evenly golden brown, swirling the pan often. As soon as garlic has reached a golden brown, remove from heat and scrap the garlic and all the oil into a separate bowl to stop the cooking process. 

Place goat cheese, cream cheese, parmesan cheese, black pepper, and garlic olive oil mixture in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to break the goat cheese log and then process until fully mixed and creamy, 30 seconds or so.

Transfer to a baking dish (I used a 24 ounce round gratin stoneware dish - 9x7 inch oval). Smooth out the top with the back of a spoon and brush it with a little bit of (no more than ½ teaspoon) olive oil.

Bake in the oven for 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and gently spoon 1 cup of Wozz! Bruschetta Caponata to center of dip, being sure to leave a good amount of the outer rim of the cheese dip exposed (for presentation). Return to the oven and bake for another 3 minutes.

Remove from the oven, garnish with fresh oregano, a little drizzle of olive oil and serve immediately with lightly toasted French baguette slices, crackers, warm or grilled pita bread and crudités.   You want to serve this nice and hot, right when it comes out of the oven.