This fresh mizuna and walnut pesto recipe is perfect on crostini's or bruschetta's with a pinch of garlic and extra Parmesan cheese and some lemon zest to jazz it up.
Crostini or bruschetta are addicting little toasts and are perfect for easy and delicious appetizers or snacks.
Mizuna is a Japanese plant similar in taste to Arugula and also in the same family: the mustard or Brassicaceae family. Can't find mizuna? Use Arugula instead.
You can make the crostini up to one day ahead of time and store in a ziplock bag overnight. Don't completely seal the bag. Leave a small space for air to pass and don't put the crostini into the bag until they have cooled down or they will soften up.
Cutting the baguette on the diagonal (also called "on the bias") will give you more surface area on the crostini for the topping (plus look cooler!)
Don't want to dirty a pan just for cooking the garlic? Skip cooking the garlic and use a little less in the pesto raw.
Don't want to make the mizuna pesto? No problem - buy some store bought basil pesto and skip that step.
Serving Suggestion
Serve this Mizuna and Walnut Crostini appetizer with a complementary dish like:
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Things In My Kitchen:
- Microplane Zester - for zesting the lemon.
- Food Processor - for making pesto. My favorite is an 11 cup, but it's often to big for pesto. A 7 or 8 cup is a nice alternative if you want something smaller.
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Mizuna And Walnut Pesto Crostini
EatSimpleFood.com
This fresh mizuna and walnut pesto recipe is perfect on crostini's (little toast) with a pinch of garlic and extra parmesan and some lemon zest to jazz it up.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: ~35 pieces
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Ingredient List Crostini:
- 1 large baguette, sliced ¼" thick on the diagonal
- e.v. olive oil
- ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese - for garnish
Ingredient List Pesto:
- 1 cup walnuts, toasted
- 4 cups (~ 6 ounces) Mizuna -substitute arugula if you can't find Mizuna
- ½ cup e.v. olive oil
- ½ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced & sauteed
- 2 lemons, zested
- 3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Line a sheet with aluminum foil and toast 1 cup Walnuts (any nut will work if you don't have walnuts) at 350F for ~ 6-8 minutes uncovered. The nuts should be fragrant and hot when you take them out of the oven. Set aside to cool. Keep aluminum on tray to toast the bread
- Slice one large baguette on the diagonal (you should get ~30-35 pieces). Baste each side of every slice with a little e.v. olive oil. Lightly sea salt and pepper one or both sides. Bake at 350F ~ 8- 10 minutes uncovered. You want these guys to be crispy but not burnt. Some people say toast until golden, but they've gone too long if they start changing to a darker color. After all, you want the roof of your mouth to stay intact!
- Bring a pan to medium high heat and add the garlic. Cook ~ 1-2 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant.
- Zest
2 large lemons. Set zest aside and juice lemons.
- Make the pesto: In a food processor
add: walnuts, Mizuna, ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese (reserving the rest for garnish), garlic, lemon juice, sea salt, and black pepper. Slowly add in the olive oil while "whizzing" it up. Substitute or add a little water if you want a thinner consistency or are trying to cut down on the oil. Add sea salt and e.v. olive oil to taste to the pesto, but remember that the crostini have salt on them already.
- Spread the pesto over the crostini and top with a touch of grated Parmesan Cheese and lemon zest. Happy Eating! Beckie
add: walnuts, Mizuna, ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese (reserving the rest for garnish), garlic, lemon juice, sea salt, and black pepper. Slowly add in the olive oil while "whizzing" it up. Substitute or add a little water if you want a thinner consistency or are trying to cut down on the oil. Add sea salt and e.v. olive oil to taste to the pesto, but remember that the crostini have salt on them already.Notes
- You can make the crostini up to one day ahead of time and store in a ziploc bag overnight.
- Can't find mizuna? Use Arugula instead.
- Cutting on the diagonal will give you more surface area for the topping (plus look cooler!)
- Don't want to dirty a pan just for garlic? Skip cooking the garlic and use it in the pesto raw.
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