Spring Pea Crostini Appetizer

Green, the color of life. Forever my favorite color. And the color of most vegetables I consider a vegetable and one delicious, beautiful, favorite vegetable that counts as a starch in my house. I know, I’m weird. In our house dinner has to have 3 vegetables. Why? Because it has HARD to get vegetables in for breakfast or lunch so we hope for between all meals we get five (or more) servings of vegetables or fruits a day. So, what does that have to do with this appetizer? Not really anything aside from Peas do not count as vegetables in our family. So, if you’re looking for a delicious appetizer with Spring-flavor, and partial vegetable goodness, look no further. 😉

I believe I’ve made every blogging mistake in that first paragraph. However, I long ago realized that blogging was a thing I did because I loved sharing tid bits about myself and my life along with (hopefully) useful tips. So, you are very welcome to just scroll down to the recipe. Most of you are (understandably) here for that. However, the rest of you… if you’re here for my very weird beliefs in vegetables.. I’m so here for you.

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On to the recipe…

All crostini recipes are based on the fact that things piled on bread are delicious. Sure, you can have a dip and bread and have a similar effect on the taste buds, but crostini offer the perfect bite in each little appetizer. These are really so simple. Like I was able to make them on TV while absolutely frazzled and stressed on time. Sure I made a mess. But, were they delicious? YES THEY WERE.

Spring Pea Crostini Tips:

1. Toast up thin slices of a delicious French Baguette. Other breads work, sure, but this is tasty. The key with any crostini, in my opinion, is a thin slice. When something is too thick it is too hard to eat! I toasted up my French Baguette slices in the broiler for a minute or two with a bit of olive oil and salt on top.
2. You can get fresh peas and par boil them and shock them in ice water to keep them green. OR you can get a bag of frozen green peas and put them in a colander. Pour boiling water over them to get them soft and ready to go! Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process and keep the beautiful green color.
3. Garnish with pea shoots! The delicious green will add to the nutritional value (counts as a vegetable in my book!) If you don’t have access to pea shoots, try chives or another fresh green.
4. Use a good olive oil to top them off.
5. To really take it up a notch, top it with edible flowers. You can get edible flowers at your local speciality grocer during certain seasons. Or, purchase them dried!*

Spring Pea Crostini

Jenni

This easy appetizer is the perfect thing to grab last minute from the grocery store and whip up for your next Spring brunch or potluck. It'll get raving reviews.

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Ingredients

  

• 1 large French Baguette
• 16 oz Ricotta
• 8 oz Parmigiano Reggiano grated
• 2 Zest of Lemons
• 1 cup Pea Sprouts
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil drizzle optional
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1/4 cup edible flowers
• 16 oz Frozen Peas

Instructions

 

• Slice French Baguette thinly, brush with olive oil, and toast under broiler until just toasted. It only took mine around 2 minutes to be perfectly toasted.
• Add the full 16 oz Ricotta, 1 cup of grated Parmigiano Reggiano, Zest of two lemons, salt, and pepper to taste into a mixing bowl and mix until well incorporated with a large spoon.
• If you really like lemon, I suggest adding the juice of 1 lemon to the mixture for an extra pop of flavor!
• Prep fresh peas by dropping into boiling water and letting them cook for 1 minute then straining them into a bowl of ice water. Prep frozen peas by running hot water over them until no longer frozen.
• Place a spoonful of the ricotta mixture on a slice of toasted baguette and spread with the back of the spoon. Top with peas.
• Garnish with pea shoots, a drizzle of good quality olive oil, and edible flowers for a special treat.

Serve these at your next Spring get-together and your friends and family will not be disappointed! What is your favorite type of Crostini? I’d love to know what things you like to top your toasted bread with for a quick and delicious appetizer.