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Recipes

Crostini with Fresh Pea Pesto & Pine Nuts
Chef Mei Ibach
Makes about 2 cups

Depending on the season, you can substitute a variety of things for the peas, including fresh fava beans, fresh or canned canellini beans or navy beans, etc.

Pea Pesto
1 lb                 fresh peas, shelled (about 2 pounds in their pods)
4                     garlic cloves
3 oz                 grated Dry Jack cheese
2 tsp               fresh lemon juice
1 cup              toasted pine-nut, reserve ¼ cup for garnish
1 tsp               Kosher salt or more to taste
½ tsp              freshly ground black pepper
~1 cup             olive oil

Crostini
1 loaf              of your favorite choice of baguette, cut into ½ inch slices
½ cup             olive oil
                      kosher salt & pepper to season

For the pesto, blanch the peas in boiling water, for 1 minute, immediately plunge in ice water. (Frozen peas do not need to be blanched; thaw first.) Pulse together the peas, garlic, cheese, lemon juice, pine-nut, salt and pepper in a food processor, slowly add the olive oil, continuing to pulse until combined but still having some texture.

For the crostini, preheat the stovetop griddle or grill pan on a medium-high heat. Brush both sides of the bread slices with olive oil and garlic and grill until golden, about 1-2 minutes. 

To serve, spread 1-2 tablespoons of the prepared pesto on each slice. Garnish with pine-nuts.