You might have guessed that I am amused by food words that sound fancy, usually because they are from a foreign language, but are used to describe something simple. Crostini is an appetizer consisting of toasted bread with some sort of topping (in this case mushrooms). “Crostino” means toast or crouton in Italian but gosh it sounds so much more sophisticated than the English translation or maybe I am just a xenophile so I will move on.
I read that the crostini is believed to have originated in the medieval ages as an Italian peasant food traditionally made with ciabatta. You have to love food that was once considered pauperised food but is appreciated in modern times; can you imagine the days when ribs were scorned or neck of lamb and oxtail was being thrown away? Give me peasant food any day of the week if it tastes this good.
There are many variations of the crostini, beans and garlic, green veggies, cheese and cold cuts. This mushroom crostini recipe is comforting and a perfect bite that you can enjoy even when watching your waistline as you share it with your friends at your next gathering.
Each element of this recipe is simple but it is about the attention to detail. The foundation of any type of crostini is perfectly grilled bread. Make sure you brush it with a little olive oil and toast it over high heat to create those beautiful grill marks.
Live, Love, Eat!
April x
- 1/2 baguette, sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon parsley garlic butter
- 42 g crimini mushrooms, sliced (2 small)
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- parsley chopped
- manchego (optional), grated
- Heat your frying pan over medium heat and grill on high heat.
- Grill your bread after brushing it with a little olive oil
- Melt butter and then add mushrooms, cook for 2 minutes.
- Add sour cream, a pinch of salt and pepper before putting on toast.
- Lay over toast and top with fresh parsley and grated cheese.
[…] into any dish and there is a different kind of mushroom for any occasion. From stuffed mushrooms to mushroom crostinis or shiitake or straw mushrooms in Asian dishes to porcini mushrooms in your Italian dishes there is […]