before i left for my canadian vacation, my friend lish and i got together to brainstorm about our summer events and to celebrate spring.
we set up a beautiful outdoor lunch complete with blooming eucalyptus table runners and lavender + grapefruit cocktails. all the food we cooked up was inspired by jenni kayne’s new book, pacific natural. and my favorite dish was a version of her mushroom and ricotta crostini.
i LOVE using lavender (if my logo wasn’t a dead giveaway) as a replacement for most dishes with rosemary. that light, floral herb is the perfect compliment to zesty red wine vinegar mushrooms and my creamy homemade ricotta cheese.
ricotta + lavender mushroom crostini
serves: 8 crostini
prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 10 minutes
total time: 20 minutes
ingredients: 8 slices of your favorite baguette. .5 cup homemade ricotta. 1 cup slice cremini mushrooms. 2 tbs butter. 1 tbs chopped lavender (you can sub rosemary if you don’t have any lavender). 2 garlic cloves minced + one extra clove to rub your bread. .25 cup red wine vinegar. .5 tsp kosher salt. .25 tsp freshly ground pepper. edible flowers for garnish, optional. baking sheet.
start by toasting your bread. place your baguette slices on your baking sheet and either toast them in toaster oven or baking them in the oven at 375 degrees F for 7-10 minutes. you want your toast to be a light golden brown.
while your bread slices are toasting, heat your butter over medium high heat until the butter is bubbly. add in your mushrooms and season with half the salt and pepper. toss everything well till the mushrooms are lightly butter coated. cook until the mushrooms get a nice brown, about 5-7 minutes, stirring about halfway through.
add in the garlic, lavender and the red wine vinegar. season with the rest of the salt and pepper and stir everything well.
cook until the liquid has completely cooked down. about 3 minutes.
once your baguette pieces of toasted, brush each piece of baguette with your garlic clove.
spread each piece with a nice layer of ricotta.
top the ricotta with your cooked mushrooms.
garnish with your edible flowers and serve.
xo, a
ricotta + lavender mushroom crostini
serves: 8 crostini
prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 10 minutes
total time: 20 minutes
ingredients: 8 slices of your favorite baguette. .5 cup homemade ricotta. 1 cup slice cremini mushrooms. 2 tbs butter. 1 tbs chopped lavender (you can sub rosemary if you don’t have any lavender). 2 garlic cloves minced + one extra clove to rub your bread. .25 cup red wine vinegar. .5 tsp kosher salt. .25 tsp freshly ground pepper. edible flowers for garnish, optional. baking sheet.
start by toasting your bread. place your baguette slices on your baking sheet and either toast them in toaster oven or baking them in the oven at 375 degrees F for 7-10 minutes. you want your toast to be a light golden brown. while your bread slices are toasting, heat your butter over medium high heat until the butter is bubbly. add in your mushrooms and season with half the salt and pepper. toss everything well till the mushrooms are lightly butter coated. cook until the mushrooms get a nice brown, about 5-7 minutes, stirring about halfway through. add in the garlic, lavender and the red wine vinegar. season with the rest of the salt and pepper and stir everything well. cook until the liquid has completely cooked down. about 3 minutes. once your baguette pieces of toasted, brush each piece of baguette with your garlic clove. spread each piece with a nice layer of ricotta. top the ricotta with your cooked mushrooms. garnish with your edible flowers and serve.
