Ultimate Crostini

toasted french baguette
mashed mayocoba beans with rosemary
chopped fresh baby spinach/ sesame rice wine vinaigrette
savory sautéed mushrooms/ roasted hatch chiles

Here is an über-flavorful appetizer certain to appeal to all of your guests: gourmet, cholesterol-conscious, vegan/vegetarian, and meat-eaters alike. It’s a creamy mayocoba bean mash with fresh rosemary, tender baby spinach dressed with a slightly sweet and toasty vinaigrette, meaty mushrooms, and smoky medium-hot chiles all layered atop sliced toasted baguette.

The inspiration for this crostini came from a favorite salad: Grilled King Trumpets & Shishito Peppers on Rosemary Skewers over Spinach and Roasted Soybeans. The combination of flavors and textures in the salad is extraordinary. Here, similar ingredients are terrific together arranged on slices of toast.

The Hatch Chile Festival is coming up on September 4th and 5th in Hatch, New Mexico, the “Chile Capital of the World.” Fresh Hatch chiles are only available for a limited time at our local market here in LA, and since we can’t attend the festival, we’ll be stocking up! Roasted chiles can be frozen and enjoyed throughout the year. Our first dish of  Hatch chile season is Ultimate Crostini.

fresh hatch chiles from new mexico
the most delicious roasting chile

roasted hatch chiles

remove blistered skin from the roasted chiles, remove stems and seeds
dice, then heat in a bit of olive oil, season with sea salt

mayocoba beans

these plump, yellow tinged, creamy beans are very flavorful
make extra and try them in a salad, with rice, or in a soup

Soak mayocoba beans overnight. Rinse then cook in a deep saucepan with a few cloves of smashed garlic and some salt, covered by a couple inches of water. They should be tender in about an hour. Drain then toss with chopped fresh rosemary, sea salt and olive oil. Roast in a single layer at 400° for about 15 minutes until the skins start to pop open.

Coarsely mash the beans, add more salt and olive oil to taste.

Meanwhile, sauté sliced mushrooms in a small amount of olive oil until browned. Add about 1/4 c. white wine, when the wine evaporates, add about 1/4 c. rich vegetable stock. Let the stock evaporate, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Lightly brush sliced baguette with olive oil, then toast to light brown. Top with bean mash.

Chop fresh baby spinach, dress with a splash of seasoned rice wine vinegar and toasted sesame oil.

Top the bean mash with spinach, then a few slices of mushroom and finally diced New Mexico Hatch chiles.

Ultimate Crostini @My Legume Love Affair

It has been well over a year since I had the pleasure of hosting My Legume Love Affair 11th Helping, a wildly successful monthly event showcasing legume-centric dishes from around the world created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook, now going into its 26th month. Ultimate Crostini with its flavorful mayocoba beans would be a great appetizer to serve at this month’s party, so I’m sending this dish along to August’s gracious hostess, Simona of Briciole blog.

Fans of Hatch chiles might want to try this tasty recipe too: Albondigas Soup with Hatch Chiles