Ingredients
Scale
- 3 – 4 red, yellow, orange sweet mini peppers (use a mix of colors for best effect)
- 4 oz. Greek cream cheese (or Neufchatel), softened
- 2 – 3 Tablespoons sun dried tomato pesto (recipe here)
- 8 oz. white cheddar, cut into slices and then into squares
- 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
- 1 – 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped basil
- 2 Tablespoons fresh snipped chives or green onion
- 2 – 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
- Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 F. Put the peppers on a baking sheet and roast until the peels are charred, turning so that all sides get roasted. Once roasted, put the peppers in a small bowl and cover with a plate until they are cool. Most of the peel should slip right off once they cool. Pull the peel off, pull out the core/seeds and chop the peppers.
- Find a rectangular container that the cheddar fits nicely in and cut a sheet of wax paper to fit the container so that it covers the bottom and comes all the way up the longer sides of the container. This will help you lift the cheese from the container once it’s done.
- Mix the cream cheese with the pesto, adjusting the amount of pesto to your liking. Use a knife to spread the cream cheese mixture onto a square of cheddar, top with another square of cheddar, then more cream cheese, then more cheddar. Repeat until all the cheddar is gone or the cream cheese is gone. You may need to make 2 or 3 stacks. Gently set your cheese stacks in the container.
- Mix together the chopped peppers, parsley, chives or green onion and garlic with a bit of olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt, a pinch of sugar and freshly ground black pepper. Toss a little more, the spoon this mixture over the cheese stacks.
- Pour olive oil to cover all the cheese and the topping, cover and let marinate at room temperature for at least 2 hours or in the fridge overnight.
- At serving time, carefully lift the wax paper, letting the excess oil drain back into the container. Set the cheese stacks with the topping onto a long serving plate with a nice edge to keep the olive oil from escaping. Serve with crackers or Italian Garlic Bread Crisps (recipe here).
Notes
The FDA recommends storing oil with raw garlic in the fridge for no more than a week. For safety, store your marinated cheese in the freezer if you want to keep it more than a week. Other options are to saute the garlic before adding it or use freeze dried minced garlic.
RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/
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