Cafe Liz

April 30, 200911 Comments

Toasts with loquats, cheese and basil

Liz Steinberg

Quick to put together and fun to eat, these toasts take advantage of the onset of loquat season. I picked up a whole bucket of loquats at the Carmel Market for about 3 shekels a kilo this weekend. Admittedly, they were somewhat bruised looking, hence the price, but that means they’re super-ripe and sweet. Anyway, they actually go very well with cheese and basil.

I made the toast from diagonally-sliced whole wheat breadsticks from the bakery at the Carmelit end of the market. This is the first time I found the breadsticks there, and they’re very nice, with a crunchy wheat bran coating and a light hint of nigella (a.k.a. black cumin a.k.a. ketzah). You could pretty much use any kind of bread though.

I sliced the loquats lengthwise, around the pits, and got four slices out of each fruit. I ate the leftover bits at the top and bottom.

More of my loquat recipes.

Cheesewise, I used alternately gouda and a smoked mozzarella that we got in Hungary. I’m not sure whether you can get the latter here in Israel.

For each toast you’ll need:

1 toast/cracker/slice of toasted roll
1 slice of loquat
1 slice of cheese (gouda, smoked mozzarella or another cheese of your choice)
1 basil leaf
olive oil

Drizzle a small bit of olive oil on the bread. Top with cheese, basil and loquat.

Related Posts:

More on: basil, cheese, Dairy, loquat, quick, toast

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11 Comments »

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1. interesting recipe….. loquat?…. similar to a quince?

   like your style

   Comment by Greg — May 4, 2009 #

2. Similar to a quince? Not at all … quinces are more similar to apples, whereas loquats are soft, with a large pit (that contains several seeds) and a rubbery skin. In terms of texture, they’re more like apricots or peaches, or maybe very large cherries. Tastewise, they’re relatively mild (in my opinion), quite sweet, and tangy when not overly ripe. Not sure how to describe the taste beyond that …

   Anyway, thanks, good to have you here.

   Comment by Liz — May 4, 2009 #

3. You have a lot of beautiful pictures on your blog!

   Comment by AndreaQ — May 5, 2009 #

4. Thanks!

   Comment by Liz — May 5, 2009 #

5. I see loquats show up from time to time on blogs and I’m so curious to taste them some day. Haven’t seen them show up here in NYC though.

   Comment by Marc @ NoRecipes — May 6, 2009 #

6. I wish I could tell you where to get them …. in any case, I know how you feel — all those posts about fiddleheads and ramps have piqued my curiosity as well.

   Comment by Liz — May 7, 2009 #

7. What a great idea for fingerfood!
   Thx for the creativity.

   Comment by A-Man — January 21, 2010 #

8. thank you for the recipes! i made the brandied loquats last night and will make this one for a party in a couple of weeks. i live in california and have a tree in my backyard that has produced a lot of fruit in the last few years. i also saw a lot of loquats during my recent trip to Taiwan, where they package the fruit into boxes in neat, pretty rows.

   Comment by ames — May 10, 2010 #

9. Thanks, Ames! Good luck with the brandied loquats — if that’s your blog I saw with the photos, it looks like they’re already well on their way!

   Comment by Liz — May 12, 2010 #

10. hi liz! yes, that was my blog with the brandied loquats. i can’t wait until they are ready!

    i made this recipe, but used multigrain crackers instead, for a big potluck birthday party yesterday and the birthday girl kept telling people they had to try this, that it was her favorite dish!

    Comment by ames — May 24, 2010 #

11. Ames, that’s awesome! Thanks for letting me know.

    Comment by Liz — May 28, 2010 #

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