APPLE, BRIE AND BLUE CHEESE PESTO CROSTINI
Serves 8to 10
Note: For a picnic, prepare the blue cheese pesto and baguette slices ahead of time. Have your guests assemble their own crostini on the spot.
Blue cheese pesto:
2cups fresh basil leaves
1 large clove garlic
¼ cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated ¼ cup good quality blue cheese ¾ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Crostini:
1 small baguette
Olive oil
½ pound triple-cream Brie, sliced into ¼-inch pieces
½ green apple, unpeeled, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons fig preserves
Directions
For the pesto, place all the ingredients
except the olive oil into the bowl of a large food processor. Pulse 10-12times to blend. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pulse a few more times. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a thin stream and process for about 20 seconds. Stream in olive oil with the motor running for about 20seconds. Scrape the sides again and pulse until blended. Can be made a day in
advance and refrigerated.
Heat oven to 325degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the baguette into ¼-inch slices at an angle and arrange in a single layer on the prepared pan. Brush bread with olive oil, add a sprinkle of salt and bake for 10-12minutes, or until golden brown around the edges but not too firm in the center. Remove from pan and let the crostini
cool on a rack. Spread each crostini with a thin layer of fig preserves, then top with 2thin slices of green apple and a thick slice of Brie. Top with a drizzle of pesto and serve. (If you’re making these at home, the crostini are especially delicious if you broil them for 30 seconds, before topping them with pesto).
— Sonya Keister, “The Savory Gourmet Cookbook”