Canada’s 150th birthday is just a couple days away! In my last style post, I mentioned I’d be keeping the celebrations going this week with a Canada150 food post. So, I’m excited to have teamed up with the Dairy Farmers of Canada to share my very own crostini recipes and a super simple baked Camembert, all using Canadian cheese!
The first things that come to mind for Canada150 are celebrating and entertaining. Whether you’re entertaining at home or a guest at someone else’s, this trio of crostini will be a crowd-pleaser for Canada Day. The first is a Camembert and olive tapenade with a fig glaze. The second is a blue cheese with figs and honey. And the third is a cheddar with prosciutto, cherry tomatoes and chives. All bite-sized, but they pack such a flavourful punch!
If you follow me on Instagram and watch my Instastories, you will have seen me putting these together. There’s very little prep and assembly time involved, because for Canada150, you should be spending your time sipping a cocktail or beer, rather than slaving away in the kitchen!
A Little Bit about the Canadian Cheese in These Recipes
We are so lucky to have such a wide array of amazing Canadian cheeses being cultivated from coast to coast. Canada has a long history of cheese making and our country’s cheeses have won awards worldwide. For Canada150, the Dairy Farmers of Canada have hand-picked 3 distinct Canadian cheeses to showcase, which are made from 100% Canadian quality milk:
- Comox Camembert
- Devil’s Rock Blue Cheese, and
- Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar
Comox Camembert is a creamy Camembert named after the small town in British Columbia, where it’s made. I love that you can eat the rind on this cheese, which is a nice counter-balance to the soft texture of the inside! And when you bake it in the oven, it’s like a totally different experience. The centre becomes so gooey and it’s perfect to dip your bread directly into!
Devil’s Rock Blue Cheese comes from right here in Ontario. It’s encased in black wax and is shaped like a pyramid, so you can’t miss it in your grocery aisle. What I love about this blue cheese is that it’s creamy, rather than crumbly, so it’s really easy to spread on bread (hence why it works so well in a crostini recipe).
But, I’d have to say my favourite of all 3 is the PEI Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar. It’s made by Cows Creamery, and anybody who’s been to PEI knows that Cows Creamery has the best ice cream in town! Aged cheddar is one of my favourite cheeses, and this one’s aged for 14 months. It’s firm, but can easily be sliced and put on bread to make crostini.
So now that you know a bit more about the cheeses, let’s get on to the good stuff… I’m including my 4 simple recipes below. Each is printable, so you can take home with you and try for yourself in the kitchen!
First, the baked Camembert, because while you’re baking in the oven, you can move on to the assembly of the crostini.
Baked Comox Camembert
Ingredients
- 1 whole Comox Camembert
- 1/4 sprig Rosemary chopped finely
- 1 clove garlic cut into slices
- 1 sprinkle sea salt or to taste
- olive oil
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F.
- While oven is pre-heating, score the top of the Camembert with a knife to make a cross hatch design.
- Cut 1 clove of garlic into slices and insert slices of garlic into the slits in the Cheese.
- Chop rosemary finely and sprinkle over top of the cheese.
- Sprinkle sea salt to taste.
- Drizzle olive oil generously over the top of the cheese.
- Place cheese on top of parchment paper on a baking tray.
- Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes, watching the cheese carefully.
- Remove when you start to see the top of the cheese open and begin to bubble.
- Let stand for 5 minutes and then serve!
Notes
- Because this cheese does not come in a box, if you bake for too long, all of the cheese may ooze out. Ensure to watch the cheese carefully while in the oven.
And now onto the trio of crostini. Here’s how to put them together, one by one. I’ll start with the Camembert and olive tapenade with a fig glaze.
Comox Camembert and Olive Tapenade Crostini
Ingredients
- 1/2 Comox Camembert
- 1/2 loaf baguette bread cut into slices
- olive tapenade
- drizzle fig glaze
Instructions
- Cut the baguette bread into slices.
- Using a butter knife, spread the olive tapenade on each slice of bread.
- Cut the Comox Camembert into chunks and layer 1 or 2 pieces on top of each crostini.
- Finish each slice with a drizzle of fig glaze.
- Serve and enjoy!
Next up, the blue cheese with figs and honey.
Devil's Rock Blue Cheese Crostini with Figs and Honey
Ingredients
- 1/2 Devil's Rock Blue Cheese broken into pieces
- 1/2 baguette bread cut into slices
- 6 figs cut into slices
- 6 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Cut the baguette into slices.
- Using your hands, break the blue cheese into small pieces and put on top of each slice of bread.
- Cut each fig into slices.
- Layer 1 or 2 slices of fig on each crostini.
- Using a teaspoon or honey dipper, drizzle honey over top each crostini.
- Serve and enjoy!
Last, but not least, it’s time to assemble the cheddar with prosciutto, cherry tomatoes and chives crostini.
So there you have it, 4 super simple recipes celebrating Canadian cheese for Canada150. Let me know what you think of the recipes and what else you plan to serve for Canada Day!
Happy eating and Happy Canada Day!
Looks delicious! 😍
Thanks, Carol. So easy to make. You should try them out!