English Pea Crostini with Ricotta, Mint, and Prosciutto
This English pea crostini is a great appetizer to serve when the weather starts getting warm in the spring and summer. It is also great for entertaining because almost everything can be made ahead of time (including the crispy bread) and assembled easily when guests arrive. Preparation is simple…English peas are blanched and mashed, ricotta is seasoned, and baguette is sliced and cooked in the oven with LOTS of olive oil until it is super crunchy. Once assembled, the crostini are topped with prosciutto, mint, and olive oil. The finished crostini are light, yet satisfying and full of flavor.
Frozen Peas
Fresh english peas from the farmers market are great, but to be completely honest, 9 times out of 10, frozen peas are going to be MUCH better. There are typically only a couple of weeks (or maybe less) out of the year when fresh english peas are very sweet, the rest of the time they can be very starchy and contain much lower sugar levels. That being said, if you have access to really amazing fresh English peas, you should definitely use them. I have no qualms about using frozen peas because I know that they will consistently taste delicious.
“Fried Crostini”
This method for cooking crostini yields a super crunchy piece of bread which contrasts well against the soft ricotta and mashed English peas. While you could also serve this on a thick, grilled slice of sourdough, I suggest trying this method as it is really quite delicious. The other great thing about these crostini is that once they have come out of the oven and cooled, the bread can be put in an airtight container, where they will keep nice and crunchy for a few days!
I first learned to make these crostini by shallow frying slices of bread in extra virgin olive oil. The result is absolutely delicious. My only issue with this method was that it was very wasteful…there was always a lot of olive oil left behind in the skillet after frying. My solution is to completely saturate the slices of bread in olive oil and then bake them in the oven until golden and crunchy. Kind of like an “oven fried” crostini. The bread gets the same level of crunch and the same delicious olive oil flavor, without wasting as much oil.
Round out the spread
- Charred Ramps with Crispy Polenta, Chorizo, and Hot Honey
- Roasted Pepper Crostini with Garlic Confit, Burrata, and Basil
- “Grilled” Calamari and White Bean Salad
- Leeks Vinaigrette
- Simple Chicken Liver Mousse
- 20 Minute Tomato Gazpacho
English Pea Crostini with Ricotta, Mint, and Prosciutto
Ingredients
Crispy Baguette
- 1/3 of a whole baguette
- about 9 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- pinch salt
English Pea Mash
- 1 tbsp finely minced shallot
- 1.5 cups fresh or frozen english peas
- 1/2 clove garlic
- zest of half a lemon (use a fine zester or microplane)
- 1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 pinch any hot red chili powder (optional)
- 1 tbsp finely chiffonade freesh mint
- salt and pepper
Seasoned Ricotta
- 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- pinch of salt
- 7-10 grinds freshly ground black pepper
Final assembly
- 4-6 slices prosciutto (or any other dry-cured ham such as serrano, iberico, country ham….)
- 6-8 mint leaves
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- sliced chives (optional garnish)
- fresh black pepper
Instructions
Crispy Baguette
- Preheat oven to 340F. Use a long serrated knife to cut the baguette on a steep angle so that each slice is about 6-7 inches long.
- Keep cutting the baguette to yield 3 slices that are about 1/3 inch thick and 6-7 inches long.
- Place the 3 slices of bread on a baking sheet and drizzle on A LOT of olive oil. You want the bread to be completely saturated in olive oil on BOTH sides. Sprinkle on a little salt and place the baking sheet in the oven.
- Start checking the bread after 15 minutes and allow the bread to cook until it is nicely golden brown. This took about 30 minutes in my oven but it may take more or less time in your oven. Keep checking every 5 or 10 minutes to avoid burning the bread. When the bread is done, allow it to cool to room temperature. Depending on the humidity of your kitchen, the bread can stay out for 1-4 hours before getting stale. If you plan on serving the crostini much later, or the next day, place the cooled crostini in a sealed, airtight container at room temperature until ready to use, up to 3 days.
English Pea Mash
- Place 1 tbsp minced shallots in a small bowl with 1 tbsp lemon juice. Set aside to macerate while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
- Prepare an ice bath for shocking the peas after they have cooked. Bring 3-4 quarts of water to a rolling boil and season with salt until the water tastes well seasoned. Add peas to boiling water.
- Boil peas for 3 minutes or until they start to get a bit soft.
- Drain peas from boiling water and place them in the ice bath until completely cool.
- Once peas have cooled completely, drain them completely of water and add the zest of half a lemon.
- Grate or very finely mince the 1/2 clove of garlic. You should yield about 1/4 tsp grated/minced garlic.
- Place the peas with lemon zest into a blender or food processor with the grated/minced garlic and 1.5 tbsp olive oil.
- Blend or process the peas in short bursts so that some of the peas get pureed but some are left chunky.
- Place the mashed peas back in a bowl and add 1 tbsp finely chiffonade mint and the minced shallots and lemon juice that you prepared earlier. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set mash aside or in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Seasoned Ricotta
- Combine the 3/4 cup ricotta, 1/2 tbsp olive oil, and freshly ground black pepper. Mix together well and season to taste with salt.
FInal assembly
- Smear each crostini with 1/3 of the seasoned ricotta.
- Divide the english pea mash among the 3 crostini.
- Tear the slice of ham into smaller pieces and place them along the crostini, folding them in such a way to give them some volume.
- Put the crostini on a plate and drizzle with olive oil. Tear the mint leaves onto the crostini and sprinkle with chives if you are using them.