Spring time Crostini

Even though it still doesn't feel or look like Spring, the calendar tells me it's soon time to start adjusting some of our vegetables to reflect the season! (and I can't wait!) I'm expecting to see lots of beautiful asparagus and artichokes any day now, and while it's too early to take advantage of your own crop of peas, here is a fantastic spring pea crostini - try the farmers market to see if some spring peas have arrived or if the market is bare, frozen will do - I've pulled out the last of our sweet pea havest we froze last summer.

Thanks to Giada De Laurentiis for this seasonal recipe:

Pea Pesto Crostini

Ingredients


Pesto:

1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas, defrosted OR fresh spring peas

1 garlic clove

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning

1/3 cup olive oil

Crostini:

8 (1/2-inch thick) slices whole-grain baguette or ciabatta bread, preferably day-old, * see Cook's Note

1/3 cup olive oil

Garnish:

8 cherry tomatoes, halved or 1 small tomato, diced
OR
proscuitto, diced

Directions

For the pea pesto: Pulse together the peas, garlic, Parmesan, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a food processor. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil until well combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
For the crostini: Preheat a stovetop griddle or grill pan on medium-high heat. Brush both sides of the sliced bread with olive oil and grill until golden, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the bread to a clean surface and spread 1 to 2 tablespoons of the prepared pesto on each slice.
Top with tomato halves OR proscuitto and serve.

*Cook's note: If you don't have day-old bread on hand, you can dry out fresh bread by putting the slices in a preheated 300 degree F oven until slightly crisp, about 5 minutes.