Sweet Pea and Ricotta Crostini

A friend of mine text me this afternoon asking for the recipe for a sweet pea and ricotta crostini I made when she was visiting, so I apologize in advance, there are no pictures. But these were so amazing I made them twice in a week.

In September, we had dinner for my brother's girlfriends 30th birthday and I was in charge of appetizers. She loves crostini, and I love to make ricotta. Naturally, I wanted to combine the two and I found a recipe on The Daily Green which inspired the sweet pea mixture.  

Ingredients: 

1 small bag of frozen green peas

1 french baguette

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

5 medium cloves of garlic, minced

1 recipe of fresh ricotta cheese (You could use store-bought, but it's SO easy, and AMAZING!)

       -Side Note: I can't find the exact recipe I used, but I used vinegar, not lemon juice.

1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint

1/2 small shallot, chopped

2 Tbsp grated parmesean (I did this to taste, you can never have too much cheese!)

1 Tbsp fresh chopped basil

Preheat the oven to 400º F

You can make the ricotta a few days in advance if you want to save some time. If making it the same day, I would make it a few hours ahead of time to let it drain. Microwave the peas for about 5 minutes, let them cool. Combine the peas, 1/2 Tbsp of mint, basil, parmesean, 1 Tbsp of olive oil either in a food processor or you can mash it all together with a fork. (The food processor will make it more of a paste, if you want a little more texture, just mash it with a fork or a potato masher) 

Slice the baguette about 1/4 inch thick, brush each side with a small amount of olive oil. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for about 7 minutes (keep an eye on this, once they start to brown it will go quick!)

Take the ricotta and mix in the garlic, shallots, pepper (to taste) and the other 1/2 Tbsp of mint. 

Once all the components are done, spread about 1 teaspoon of the cheese on the bread, then top with a teaspoon of pea mixture. If you wanted to make it really fancy, I would top it with a sweet pea shoot if you can find them which will add a nice little texture to it as well as a little classy touch.

They should look something like this:

Photo: The Daily Green

I LOVE crostini for an easy entertaining dish. They are easy to assemble and there are endless flavor profiles for them. We also did smoked salmon with dill and blue cheese with figs and honey. I am always up for new ideas, so feel free to comment!!!

Until next time! :) 

Katie