When it comes to cooking and entertaining during the summer months, Crostini is where it’s at! These three easy Summer Crostini Recipes are sure to be crowd pleasers and they’re super simple to make.
When it comes to cooking and entertaining during the summer months, I like to keep things light and simple. When the temperatures rise, standing in a hot kitchen doesn’t sound too appealing.
3 Easy Summer Crostini Recipes
It’s this time of the year that allows me to be more creative during meal time. With the variety of fresh and locally-sourced fruits and veggies at farmers markets to seasonal produce on sale in many grocery stores, it’s easy to come up with a light and flavorful dish.
I like to adopt a Mediterranean style of cooking this time of the year and this month I’ve especially been gravitating toward crostini. Crostini, meaning “little toasts”, have widely been considered a traditional appetizer dish from the Italian region. Personally I prefer to create a crostini bar of sorts with a variety of flavors from sweet to savory, for a well-rounded dinner option. I have three of my favorites to share with you today!
Sweet Pea and Bacon Crostini Recipe
This is the perfect way to incorporate more veggies into your diet. I promise that even the pickiest of eaters will love this. No one can tell that there are peas in the mix!
If you’ve ever made bruschetta, the concept is similar and just as easy to make. Start with the traditional toasted baguette slices and you’ve got a great base to experiment with a variety of flavor combinations.
Roasted Tomato and Herbed Goat Cheese Crostini
A roasted tomato with herbed goat cheese and tuscan balsamic glaze, a twist on the traditional bruschetta with a much more nutty flavor. Roasting tomatoes during the summer months has to be one of the best ways to bring out a unique flavor in your garden-fresh tomatoes.
Strawberry-Mint with Mascarpone Cheese
Last but not least, a delicious strawberry-mint with mascarpone sweet cheese crostini, a perfect dessert item without a ton of sugar. No sugar is added to this recipe and the mint provides just enough notes to balance out the sweetness of fresh strawberries.
Serve these at a casual party with friends or for dinner out on the patio. The options are endless but the flavor is plentiful.
Ingredients
- french baguette
- olive oil
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 8 oz of frozen petite peas
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese
- white truffle salt
- white pepper
- 3 slices of crumbled bacon
- 8 oz of grape tomatoes
- tuscan balsamic vinegar
- 4 oz of herbed goat cheese
- 8 oz strawberries, sliced
- mint sprigs
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 350ºF. Cut your baguette, diagonally, into 1/4 inch pieces. Place your toast on an unlined baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil on both sides, and place into the oven. After 10 minutes, flip the slices and bake for another 5-6 minutes or until the bread is crispy and golden in color. Remove from the oven and let the toast pieces cool down to room temperature.
- Warm the chicken broth in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until the broth boils. Add the frozen peas and cook until the peas are tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the peas in a mesh sieve. Place the peas in a food processor with mascarpone cheese, a pinch of white truffle salt, and pepper. Purée the pea mixture. Place the pea purée in a bowl and refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes.Top each of the crostini with about 1 tablespoon of pea purée. Sprinkle with a bit of the crumbled bacon. Serve immediately.
- Heat an oven to 400ºF. In a sheet pan, add your grape tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Roast for about 20 minutes or until the grapes start to blister. Top each of the crostini with about 1 tablespoon of herbed goat cheese, top with the roasted tomatoes, and drizzle balsamic vinegar.
- Dice up your strawberries and chop up a few mint sprigs. Mix together well. Top each crostini with 1 tablespoon of mascarpone cheese and top with the strabwerry-mint salsa. Serve immediately.
Notes
Home Chef Tip: For the sweet pea purée, try crispy prosciutto for a saltier kick to your crostini.
We hope you enjoy these three deliciously Easy Summer Crostini recipes from SoFabFood Contributor, Monica from Caravan of Style, as much as we do. If you love these recipes, you can find more like them by visiting our appetizer section. For daily recipe inspiration, like us on Facebook and follow us on Pinterest. Enjoy!
Leave a Reply