Tuscan Sunburst Appetizer (Printable Version)

A vibrant dish featuring lemon-infused goat cheese and sweet yellow peppers with crisp breadsticks.

# What You'll Need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 3 large yellow bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced into strips

→ Cheese Mixture

02 - 7 oz fresh goat cheese, softened
03 - 1 tablespoon lemon zest (from 1–2 lemons)
04 - 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
05 - 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
06 - 1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped
07 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

→ Bread

08 - 12 Italian grissini breadsticks

# Steps to Follow:

01 - In a medium mixing bowl, blend softened goat cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, chives, salt, and pepper until smooth and creamy.
02 - Place yellow bell pepper strips in a circular pattern on a large serving platter, forming sunray shapes with an open center.
03 - Spoon the lemon-infused goat cheese into the platter’s center, forming a neat circle or dome.
04 - Position the grissini breadsticks around the platter, radiating outward from the cheese center like sunrays.
05 - Present immediately, encouraging guests to scoop cheese with breadsticks and bell pepper strips.

# Additional Tips::

01 -
  • It looks stunning with minimal effort, which means you can actually enjoy your guests instead of sweating in the kitchen.
  • The combination of bright lemon and creamy cheese against those sweet peppers tastes like summer in every bite.
  • Everything comes together in 20 minutes, so it's perfect for those moments when inspiration strikes last-minute.
02 -
  • Soften that goat cheese beforehand or it'll be impossible to mix smoothly and you'll end up with lumps no amount of stirring can fix.
  • If you have time, roasting the peppers until their edges char slightly and then cooling them completely transforms the whole dish from fresh to something deeper and more complex.
03 -
  • Room-temperature goat cheese is everything—pull it from the fridge thirty minutes before you start mixing.
  • Use a microplane for the lemon zest; it gives you flecks of flavor rather than chunks, and the final texture is noticeably better.
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