Photo by Sarah Jane Sanders
Photo by Sarah Jane Sanders
Recipe by Ranada west-Riley of Lexington Diner. Photos by Sarah Jane Sanders.
Looking ahead to this month’s Crave Lexington Food + Music Festival, we decided to approach Lexington Diner, which got top honors in the 2015 festival’s Beyond Grits People’s Choice awards, including Best Southern and Best Overall.
Whereas the menu of the popular downtown breakfast and lunch spot primarily focuses on traditional diner fare with a heavy emphasis on local farm-fresh ingredients, the diner’s sister business, Creative Table Kitchen and Catering, features a catering menu chock full of inventive and unexpected dishes, from Firecracker Shrimp Canape and Bacon-Wrapped Water Chestnuts to Feta, Mint and Watermelon Bites and this Mango- Strawberry Bruschetta.
Ingredients:
- 1 French baguette, cut on bias width-wise into slices
- 1 mango, finely diced
- 8-10 strawberries, finely diced
- 2 avocados, thin sliced (wait to slice until composing dish so they don’t turn brown)
- 1 cup julienned basil leaves
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon champagne vinegar
- Crumbled feta – about 1/2 cup
- 2 cups balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- Olive oil, for drizzling
- Coarse sea salt
Method:
Heat oven to 400 degrees and toast baguette slices.
In a large bowl, combine diced mango, strawberries, julienned basil, lemon juice, granulated sugar, champagne vinegar and a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper, give the mixture a final toss and set aside to marinate for 20 minutes.
In a pot over medium heat, add in the remaining balsamic vinegar and brown sugar, bringing mixture to a slow rolling boil (keep stirring to keep from scorching). Maintain boil for 5 minutes until mixture starts to reduce and thicken. Turn heat to low, and continue to simmer for another 8-10 minutes. Once the mixture resembles a syrup-like consistency, set it aside to cool.
Top each crostini with a few thin slices of avocado, top with the mango-strawberry bruschetta mixture, and drizzle each one with the balsamic reduction and a small amount of crumbled feta; sprinkle a little sea salt over top.
Be sure to visit Lexington Diner’s booth at Crave 2016, taking place Aug. 13+14 at Masterson Station Park.