This Sweet Pea Crostini with Prosciutto is a delicious appetizer to serve for spring or summer entertaining. Bright green crostini is so pretty for St. Patrick’s Day or a cocktail party.
Crostini
I mentioned in my last post that we went camping last weekend. It was a ton of work to get my family ready for two days of tent camping, but it was totally worth it. I could have just grabbed burgers and dogs, PB&J and a box of cereal… but NO, I can’t do that. I enjoy food too much to pass up the opportunity to make fun camping food. We arrived mid afternoon, set up our gear, and then sat down to relax with a glass of wine and some appetizers. Other friends were camping nearby, so we visited each other’s sites and shared grub.
These crostini are SO simple to make. I used the recipe for Pea and Garlic Dip in Gale Gand’s new cookbook, “Gale Gand’s Lunch!” It can be used as a sandwich spread with turkey, or you can spread it on baguette and top with beef tenderloin, smoked salmon or shrimp (I opted for prosciutto). This is an appetizer recipe I will use again and again (and truth be told- I bookmarked a ton of other recipes in the book too!
Frozen (thawed) peas are mixed in a food processor with mint leaves, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil- that’s it!! It’s absolutely perfect for making ahead and assembling later (like at the campground).
Here’s my husband Brian (rare appearance!) Yes, he’s always this happy. He’s a life-of-the-party kind of guy! He loved my little appetizer, and the rest of our friends were intrigued with the recipe too. I know you know crostini recipes, and they’re not really the sort of thing you bring on a camping trip, but it seriously was SO easy to make and assemble. I just spooned the filling into a ziploc baggie, had the bread cut ahead of time and brought a package of prosciutto. It was really nice to have something a little gourmet to munch on our first night there.
Pretty crostini, aren’t they? I really think they’d make a pretty appetizer for a summer barbecue, but I’m also thinking of Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day too 🙂 As for the taste… I couldn’t stop eating them. The pea dip has a hint of garlic and mint, and it is delicious paired with the salty prosciutto. I didn’t bother to toast the baguette slices. They were plenty good without toasting. One word of warning >> you may be accused of “glamping” (glamorous camping) if you take these appetizers camping. They’re a little fancy for that, but they’re so worth it!
Here are a few more crostini recipes you might enjoy:
- Crostini with Gorgonzola, Caramelized Onions and Fig Jam
- Greek Crostini
- Crostini with Clams
- Cheese Crostini with Prosciutto
If you happen to be following the Weight Watchers WW plan, you’ll find a link to the WW Points on the recipe card below.
Sweet Pea Crostini with Prosciutto
Ingredients
- 1 pound frozen peas, thawed
- 5 medium fresh mint leaves
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more if desired
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more if desired
- 6 to 7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 baguette, sliced (you'll need 20 slices)
- 20 slices prosciutto (thin)
Instructions
- Place the peas, mint, garlic, salt, pepper and 6 tablespoons olive oil in a food processor or a very good blender. Process until well blended and fairly smooth (there will still be some chunky peas here and there). If the mixture is too thick, add another tablespoon of olive oil. Taste and season with more salt and pepper, if desired.
- Transfer to a covered container and chill until ready to serve (it will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days).
- When ready to serve, top each slice of bread with a generous spread of the pea dip. Drape pieces of prosciutto on top of each slice and serve.
Notes
- If you are preparing this recipe as GLUTEN-FREE, just be sure to serve it on something that is GF- like rice crackers.
- WW Points were calculated using lean prosciutto.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Disclosure: There are Amazon affiliate links included within this post.
Made this for an outdoor jazz festival gathering last evening. It was a *huge* hit! I didn’t have enough peas, so I subbed in some shelled edamame. Delish!
Great to hear!!!
I made this today… Just delicious!! Any suggestions on what else to use this pea goodness on besides bread?
Maybe on top of cucumber slices?
we cannot purchase frozen peas where we live, can canned peas be substituted and also, can cilantro be substituted for mint?
Well, I’d be weary to use canned peas as I don’t think they have quite the same fresh flavor that you’re looking for in this recipe. If you have access to fresh, I’d opt for that. Not sure how well cilantro would pair w/ the peas.
This is totally my kind of camping food.
These look sooooo good. I’d rather go glamping than camping. 🙂
I had some leftover peas in my refrigerator for a few days and just used them up last night! This would have been the perfect little snack for those leftover peas. I like the colors of it also, very pretty.
I love peas, and this is such a great way to use them! I think “glamping” sounds a lot better than camping as I’m not a fan of roughing it. haha These look delicious!
These are so pretty Lori! Love that last photo you took 🙂 What a fun thing to take camping – and a beautiful appetizer. Plus I love peas! Pinned!
I totally died at “glamping!” That is MY kind of camping – which makes these my kind of appetizer! I have been eating everything with mint lately…so these are totally up my ally! Pinned!