Walnut and Garlic Crostini
A creamy mixture of fluffy cream and blue cheese, roasted garlic and toasted walnuts spread over a crunchy crostini. The most delicious side dish or appetizer that’s great for any occasion! Quick, light and easy, these crostinis are the perfect balance of sweet, salty and tangy. What’s even more impressive is that they are ready in 15 minutes!
What is a Crostini?
You’ve probably tasted a crostini before, whether or not you were aware of it! The name crostini literally means, “little toast” in Italian. Therefore, crostini are any thin, crunchy slices of bread that has been toasted or lightly fried in oil. They are usually topped with creamy cheese, roasted veggies, crunchy nuts or sweet sauces. They are very similar to bruschetta with a few differences! So what’s the difference? Bruschetta are similar in which they are crunchy slices of bread but the Bruschetta comes from the Italian word, bruscare, which means “roast over coals”. Therefore Bruschetta are typically grilled over a fire. Crostini are typically thinner slices of bread and usually toasted in the oven.
Ingredients
Bread - The bread that typically works best when making crostini is either baguette or ciabatta bread. They toast very nicely and tend to soak up the spread excellently; making it the perfect combo of crunchy and creamy.
Oil - Crostini is a traditional Italian appetizer, so naturally it’s going to have oil, preferably olive oil. Brush the bread slices with oil and toast them in the oven for the perfect crispy crostini.
Cheese - Blue and cream cheese are our cheeses of choice for this recipe. Creamy, soft and flavourful, these cheese make a sophisticated blend of everything you need to top your crostini. If you are not a fan of blue cheese, feel free to just use cream cheese or swap it with goat or feta.
Butter - Butter is added to the cheese spread to make it extra delicious and creamy.
Garlic & Walnuts - Roasted garlic and toasted walnuts are the perfect toppings for maximum flavour and crunch. They also compliment the creamy cheese spread really well.
Parsley - a great garnish, added for colour and flavour!
How To Make Walnut and Garlic Crostini
This recipe couldn’t be easier! To make it you only need 8 ingredients, an oven and 15 minutes to spare! Here’s how you do it:
- To start, preheat the oven to 450F.
- Thinly slice baguette and place on a large, lined baking tray. Lightly brush both sides of each slice with olive oil and bake for 7-8 minutes.
- While the bread is toasting, in a blender place blue cheese, cream cheese, butter, garlic, walnuts and parsley. Pulse until well combined.
- Once the crostini has been toasted and is golden in colour, top with a dollop of walnut spread and garnish with parsley and chopped walnuts.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Variations
The best things about crostini is that it can be made with so many different toppings! Here are a few totally delicious ideas:
- Fruit or jam
- Honey
- Roasted garlic spread
- Roasted or pickled peppers
- Olive tapenade
- Balsamic glaze
- Fresh, leafy herbs such as basil, dill or parsley
Category
Appetizer
Servings
20 slices
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Author:
Kirstin Berrington
Toasted baguette slices topped with blue cheese, cream cheese, roasted garlic and crunchy walnuts. The perfect appetizer ready in under 15 minutes!
Ingredients
20 slices of crunchy bread (roughly 1 baguette)
2-3 Tbsp Olive oil
100g blue cheese
50g cream cheese
20g butter
2 clove garlic
-
1 cup toasted walnuts
1/2 cup chopped parsley
-
Extra parsley and chopped walnuts to garnish
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450F.
Thinly slice baguette and place on a large, lined baking tray. Lightly brush both sides of each slice with olive oil and bake for 7-8 minutes.
Meanwhile, into a blender place blue cheese, cream cheese, butter, garlic, walnuts and parsley. Pulse until well combined.
Top crostini with a dollop of walnut spread and garnish with parsley and chopped walnuts.
Serve warm and enjoy!
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