Sourdough Bread with Manchego Cheese

 

Sourdough Bread  With Manchego Cheese

This cheese-topped crusty-bread appetizer comes together in a flash, literally! The highlight is the sweet, mellow-flavored macerated red onions.

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Ingredients:
MACERATED RED ONIONS

½ red onion
2 tbsp. white vinegar
1 tbsp. sherry vinegar
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. granulated sugar
¼ tsp. each salt and peppercorns

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1 round loaf of sourdough bread
1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
½ cup coarsely chopped pecans, walnuts or almonds
4 oz. Manchego cheese, shaved
2 to 3 tbsp. honey

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Directions:

1.) Thinly slice onion. Place in a small container. Drizzle with both vinegars and oil. Sprinkle with sugar, salt and peppercorns. Stir to evenly mix. Stir occasionally, allowing flavors to infuse. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. Onions will keep well, covered and refrigerated, for up to a week.

2.) Just before serving, preheat barbecue to medium. Slice bread in half crosswise. Brush olive oil over bread covering all sides. Drain onions well. Place nuts in foil. Fold and seal. Bring all ingredients on a cutting board to the grill. Place foil with nut-package on grill. Using tongs, carefully shake occasionally for 2 to 3 minutes or until toasted, then remove.

3.) Oil grill. Place bread, cut-side-down, on grill. Barbecue for 3 to 7 minutes or until grill marks form. Remove bread to cutting board, cut-side up. Top each with cheese, then scatter with nuts and onions. Place back on grill. Close lid. Continue barbecuing for 2 to 3 more minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from grill to cutting board. If bread browns too quickly and cheese is not melted, remove from grill and loosely cover with foil until cheese is melted. When cool enough to handle, cut into 8 or 16 pieces. Drizzle with honey. Serve warm.

Makes 8 appetizer servings