Coming up on the weekend, is it possible that you may have friends over and want to dish up a few lovely bites to them? Or I suppose it’s also possible you won’t, and that you might want to serve up a lovely bite for your hubby/boyfriend/wife/girlfriend/super-sophisticated child?
Or maybe you just want to make yourself something great?
Lots of times on Friday or Saturday, my favorite thing to do is to make appetizers and open a bottle of wine for Pete and I. We make the kids “mocktails” and we all snack on an assortment of small bites and cured meats and cheeses. Sometimes I make enough delicious bites that I don’t even make dinner. Especially if I open a second bottle of wine… (don’t I sound like a lush this lately!?)
This appetizer is a lovely and mild blend of crispy toasted baguette, bright lemony whipped ricotta and a chunky artichoke pesto. It is a perfect combination of subtle flavor and wonderful texture and it was very popular on the last “appetizer night.” Give the recipe a whirl and let me know what you think!
Recipe: Artichoke Pesto and Lemon Ricotta Crostini
Ingredients
- Artichoke Pesto:
- 3 cloves garlic
- zest and juice of two lemons
- I bag/box Frozen Artichoke hearts (thawed)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Kosher salt to taste
- Lemon Ricotta:
- 8 ounces ricotta cheese
- zest of 2 lemons
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- Toasted baguette slices with olive oil
- Fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor combine the garlic and lemon zest. Pulse until it is minced.
- Add the artichoke hearts and a generous sprinkle of salt, then pulse a few times, then switch on and drizzle the olive oil in. It should still be chunky and thick. Taste for salt and set aside.
- In a small bowl add the ricotta, lemon zest and lemon juice and using a fork whip it all together. Season to taste with kosher salt and a generous amount of black pepper.
- Spread a thick serving of the ricotta over a toasted slice of baguette and then top woth a generous amount of the artichoke pesto. Garnish with fresh parsley and another crack of fresh black pepper.
Preparation time: 20 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 12
This sounds delicious! I love it when I can just throw ingredients in my food processor and turn out something special. I have all the ingredients so I’ll be making this tomorrow. Thanks.
Oh good Maralyn! I am the same way- the food processor is my favorite appliance!
Artichokes are one of my fave veggies! I eat a bowl of the TJs frozen artichoke hearts that I steam at least a few times a week. This is such a good way to jazz them up! Gorgeous & pinned!
Me too Averie! I am obsessed- artichokes have always been my favorite vegetable 🙂
Beautiful. Could I use canned artichoke hearts?
Nancy- if you do- then make sure you use the ones canned in water (not oil) and rinse and drain them!
Wow!!! This looks fantastic! I never ever get tired of artichokes. You live so close to wonderful wineries in the northwest. Maybe sometime you can share your fav’s? Here’s our favorite wine maker in Napa http://www.scottharveywines.com/ He and his wife are delightful and produce some truly outstanding wines.
I should do that Vicki!! There are a lot of great Washington wines- I will do a list soon!
What a tasty app!
I love that you make mocktails for the girls!! That is so fun!! This is definitely perfect for any get together!!
Thanks Julie! Yes- they love it, and so do all of the little kids that come over here often. It always has to be sparkling and with lots of garnishes to make them happy!
Perfect for spring!
Love this crostini idea, the perfect flavors. Pinned!
This sounds so good! Super fresh and bright for spring, and clearly perfect with a few glasses of wine. Hooray!
haha Eileen- the wine is almost a must 🙂
Yum!! This looks like such a nice snack!!
I made this tonight for an appetizer with a nice white wine …. SO yummy!! Thank you!! 🙂
I love that you made these Sharon! I get so excited when I get feedback- glad you enjoyed them!
Very creative appetizer recipe Heather! Count me in 🙂
Hi Heather,
It was great to be featured, along with the other bloggers, as a part of Foodie Crush’s Friday Favs–enjoying your website!
Best~Lynn
Thank you so much Lynn! Ditto!!!
Perfect for a party! Can’t wait to try!
These look wonderful and that is such a good idea to make some fun, filling snacks and drinks for Friday night dinner. I never feel like cooking anything by the end of the week, but that is something I can get excited about.
Hi Heather,
I made this last night and we all really enjoyed it but I have a question regarding the lemon juice. You list the juice of two lemons in the pesto ingredients but it is not in the directions. I added it just before the olive oil but I ended up with a bit too much liquid that I had to drain off. Did I miss something? I love your recipes and have a number of them in my rotation.
Hi Maureen- You know what- I should have said 2 tablespoons- the juice in lemons vary too much. I am glad that you like them!
Sounds delish!!! Not sure if I missed something…do you use the whole bag of frozen artichoke hearts? I’ve never purchased them, so I’m not familiar with the quantity of the bag (whole bag too much or just right?). Thanks.