This Sunday’s Afternoon Snack: Pea Crostini with Ricotta
Spring has finally arrived! Yesterday, we found a few flowers in bloom in our yard. Restaurants are beginning to transition from their winter menus to fresh spring offerings. Food magazines and blogs are now splashed with lush, vibrant pictures of vegetables and gorgeous salads and most notably of sweet peas. Almost everywhere I turn there is a dish or recipe for pea pesto, dips made with peas, crostini topped with pea spread – the list goes on. The verdant green hue and fresh flavor of peas are sweet reminders that spring has sprung.
For the past two weeks I have been craving pea crostini. I found recipes in my cooking magazines and online but nothing really whet my appetite so I decided to create my own version. My husband rarely eats vegetables but he was looking forward to trying pea crostini and even went to the market to gather all of the ingredients.
As fresh sweet peas are not yet in season in the Northeast, I used frozen organic sweet peas. My husband has a knack for finding interesting gourmet products and picked up Maplebrook Farm ricotta cheese, a fresh, creamy and light compliment to the pea spread. He also grabbed a Balthazar baguette which is always super crusty on the outside and soft and airy in the inside. (As an aside, my dear husband grabbed what he thought was a bunch of mint leaves at the market. His inner monologue: “The sign on the produce shelf labels it as mint so it has to be mint, right? It doesn’t smell like mint but the sign says it is so it must to be mint.” However, a voice in his head told him to ask someone before returning home. Otherwise, he would have to endure questions (from me) like, “Didn’t you think to smell it? And if you did, does this parsley smell like mint to you?”)
All of the flavors in Pea Crostini with Ricotta (recipe below) work well together. No one ingredient stands out but you can taste all of the subtle flavors. This dish welcomes many variations and possibilities so add in your favorite ingredients. Pea Crostini with Ricotta is light and delicious and a perfect dish to welcome in Spring.
Pea Crostini with Ricotta
Print Recipe
Pea Crostini with Ricotta is a quick,easy, light and delicious recipe. The crostini work as a snack, a light lunch or an hors d'oeuvre. The grilled bread slices and pea mixture can be made a few hours ahead, but assemble the crostini up to 30 minutes before serving as the grilled bread may get soggy. This recipe can easily be doubled.
Pea Crostini with Ricotta is a quick,easy, light and delicious recipe. The crostini work as a snack, a light lunch or an hors d'oeuvre. The grilled bread slices and pea mixture can be made a few hours ahead, but assemble the crostini up to 30 minutes before serving as the grilled bread may get soggy. This recipe can easily be doubled.
Brush olive oil on both sides of bread slices. Heat a grill pan or skillet on high and grill the bread until well toasted, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from heat and transfer bread to a plate.
Cut garlic clove in half and rub the cut side over each slice of grilled bread, using one or two gentle passes. (This gives the toasts an essence of garlic.)
In the bowl of a food processor, add peas, mint leaves, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, salt and black pepper. Pulse until well combined (the peas should still be somewhat chunky). Scrape down the sides of the bowl, drizzle in olive oil and pulse again until all ingredients are well incorporated.
Spread the pea mixture onto the grilled bread slices and top each with ricotta cheese. Garnish with radishes (or mint leaves, if using) and lemon zest. If you have Maldon sea salt, top each crostini with a small pinch just before serving.
Spring has finally arrived! Yesterday, we found a few flowers in bloom in our yard. Restaurants are beginning to transition from their winter menus to fresh spring offerings. Food magazines and blogs are now splashed with lush, vibrant pictures of vegetables and gorgeous salads and most notably of sweet peas. Almost everywhere I turn there is a dish or recipe for pea pesto, dips made with peas, crostini topped with pea spread – the list goes on. The verdant green hue and fresh flavor of peas are sweet reminders that spring has sprung.
