Three greens crostini: easy holiday appetizers

I’m a sucker for cheese plates. They’re pretty to look at, easy to assemble, and crowd-pleasing. That being said, I struggle with them over the holidays, when they’ll be closely followed by fat spoonfuls of potatoes, sausage-laced dressing and at least one slice of pie. For this reason, I’ve started to look outside the box for holiday appetizers, the goal being to create appetizers that are not only pretty to look at, but ones that are seasonal, easy to prepare, and not too heavy.

I decided on crostini with greens, and I made three different types. They’re all set over toasted baguette slices, and they only require a handful of ingredients to prepare. The first features spicy broccoli rabe and bright red pepper flakes, and only a thin shaving of pecorino cheese for a nice salty bite. The second, mixed mushrooms with kale pesto, uses the pecorino again in an earthy, slightly more wintery version of a traditional basil pesto, using walnuts in place of the pignolis and kale in place of the herbs. The third, which might be the most adventurous, is topped with sautéed mixed greens of your choosing (I used red chard and mustard greens), a slice of smoked bluefish, or trout, and a drizzle of intensely flavored mustard oil, a favorite in Indian cooking. If you’ve never heard of mustard oil, you can read about it here. Use it in small doses for an almost wasabi-esque aftertaste that pairs really well with both the greens and the fish. An added bonus? Mustard oil has a really beautiful, golden hue, that glistens on the plate.

As far as the toppings go for these crostini, they’re all very easy to make, require little more than sautéing, and can be made several hours ahead of time and assembled at the last minute. I toasted all of the bread and cooked the mushrooms, broccoli rabe, and greens several hours before the appetizers needed to be plated. The pesto, admittedly, might be the biggest effort, just because it has a rather long ingredient list. However, this too can be made ahead (weeks ahead even) and frozen until ready to use. If you're really in a pinch, feel free to use your favorite brand of premade pesto.

These crostini look really lovely when they’re plated together, but if you’d like to stick to just one or two of them, that’s ok, too.


Each recipe will yield about 12 crostini

To make the bread slices:

Preheat the oven to 400. Slice a baguette thinly on the diagonal. Arrange the slices on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Place them in the oven on the middle rack and bake, turning once, for 5-10 minutes or until toasted. These can be prepared several hours ahead and kept uncovered at room temperature until ready to serve.

Crostini with spicy broccoli rabe and shaved pecorino

1 bunch broccoli rabe

olive oil, for sautéing

crushed red pepper flakes

a few drops of lemon juice

pecorino cheese, for shaving (1-2 ounces)

12 baguette slices, toasted

Set a pot of water on to boil to blanch the broccoli rabe. When the water has come to a boil, toss in the broccoli rabe, and cook for 2-3 minutes or until just crisp tender. Prepare and ice bath (cold water with lots of ice) and set aside. When the broccoli rabe has cooked for 2-3 minutes, transfer it to the ice bath using tongs.

Heat a scant tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Transfer the broccoli rabe from the water bath to paper towels and pat dry. Transfer it to the pan and sauté another 2-3 minutes until tender (taste testing here is a good idea, as broccoli rabe can be especially bitter when undercooked). Season with a pinch or two of red pepper flakes, salt and a few drops of lemon juice to brighten the flavors. Remove from the pan, slice on the diagonal into bite-sized pieces, and set aside. The broccoli rabe can be prepared to this point several hours in advance and either kept at room temperature or reheated before serving.

To assemble, spoon the broccoli rabe onto the toasted bread slices and top with one or two shavings of pecorino cheese, and another pinch or two of red pepper flakes, if desired.

Mixed mushroom crostini with kale pesto

8 oz mixed assorted mushrooms of your choosing (I used mostly cremini, plus a few oysters and one or two chanterelles)

olive oil, for sautéing

kale pesto, for drizzling (see below), or your favorite brand of purchased pesto

12 baguette slices, toasted

Slice the mushrooms and set aside. I recommend medium thick slices, almost 1/4 of an inch or so wide. Heat a scant tablespoon of oil in a sauté pan set over medium high heat. Add in the mushrooms and cook until just tender. Season with salt and black pepper and set aside. The mushrooms can be prepared to this point several hours in advance and either kept at room temperature or reheated before serving.

To assemble, spoon the mushroom mixture onto the toasted bread slices and top with pesto.

Kale pesto

Makes about 2-3 cups, and freezes beautifully

1 bunch kale, rinsed, thick stems removed

1/3 cup walnuts

1/3 cup grated pecorino cheese

1 small clove of garlic, minced
1/2-3/4 cup olive oil

a few drops of lemon juice

Set a pot of water on to boil for the kale. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place the walnuts on a baking sheet. Toast for 3-5 minutes, or until the walnuts are just aromatic. Allow them to cool, roughly chop them, and set aside.

When the water has come to a boil, toss in the kale, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Prepare and ice bath (cold water with lots of ice) and set aside. Remove the kale using tongs and place it directly into the ice bath to stop the cooking and help it to keep its color. When it’s cooled completely, remove the kale and squeeze out the extra water. Chop it roughly, and throw it in the bowl of a food processor.

To the kale, add in the walnuts, the pecorino, the garlic, and 1/2 cup of olive oil and begin to pulse until the ingredients are blended. If the mixture looks dry, add in olive oil, bit by bit, until you’ve reached the desired consistency. Spoon the mixture into a bowl and season with a few drops of lemon juice, salt and black pepper.

The kale pesto can be frozen and used later in a variety of recipes. I like to freeze mine in individual servings, either in ice cube trays or small plastic bags.

Mixed greens crostini with smoked whitefish and mustard oil

2 bunches of mixed greens, such as chard or mustard greens
olive oil, for sauteeing
1/4lb smoked bluefish or trout
12 baguette slices, toasted
mustard oil, for drizzling (optional, but very highly recommended)

If you’d like to use the stems as well as the leaves in the recipe, you can, depending on what type of greens you choose. I happen to enjoy using chard stems, especially brightly colored ones, for texture and color, in addition to the leaves.

Remove the leaves from the stems, tear into smaller pieces, rinse, and set aside. If you’re using stems, slice them finely and set them aside as well.

Heat a scant tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. If you’re using stems, add them in first and cook for 2-3 minutes before adding the leaves. Remove the pan from the heat and add in 1/3 cup water. Put the pan back on the heat, reduce the heat to medium, add in the leaves, and toss them in the pan very gently with tongs until they begin to wilt. Cook, stirring often, until they’re wilted and tender, and the water has evaporated. Season with salt, black pepper and a few drops of lemon juice to brighten the flavors. The mixed greens can be prepared to this point several hours in advance and either kept at room temperature or reheated before serving.

To assemble, place a spoonful of mixed greens onto each of the toasted bread slices and top with a small slice, or a few flakes, of the smoked fish. Drizzle very gently with mustard oil (a little bit goes a long way here), and serve.