Mortadella, Pistachio and Burrata Crostini
Char-grilled ciabatta bread topped with an incredible pistachio pesto, mortadella, creamy burrata cheese and sprinkled with more chopped pistachios. A simple crostini recipe that's perfect for lunch or serving up at special occasions.
Servings: 10 crostini
Ingredients
- Ciabatta bread about 10 slices
- 1 ball burrata cheese (150g/5.3oz)
- 5 slices mortadella
- 1 small handful unsalted pistachios chopped (for topping)
- olive oil
Pistachio pesto
- ½ cup unsalted pistachios (70g)
- 1 cup fresh basil (10g)
- 1 garlic clove
- ½ cup Pecorino Romano (30g)
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil (70-90ml)
Instructions
Make the pistachio pesto
- Put the pistachios, grated pecorino cheese, whole peeled garlic clove, basil and olive oil (start with ⅓ cup/70ml) in a bowl or container and blitz to a smooth paste using an immersion blender. If the pesto is too thick you can adjust the consistency by adding a small amount of olive oil at a time. Set the pesto aside.
- Taste the pesto for seasoning but it shouldn’t need any salt or pepper.
Grill the bread
- Heat a griddle pan on a high heat. Cut the ciabatta bread into slices and drizzle them lightly with olive oil on each side.
- When the griddle is hot, char-grill the bread on each side then set aside.
Assemble
- Spread each slice of bread with a little pistachio pesto. Top with a piece of mortadella (slices are usually quite big so tear the mortadella to fit the bread). Add a small spoonful of burrata then top that with about ½ teaspoon of pistachio pesto. Sprinkle over some chopped pistachios and serve.
Notes
- Serving sizes - the amount of crostini will vary depending on the size of the bread you use. Typically ciabatta isn’t very big when cut into slices so this makes around 10 ciabatta crostini. It’s the perfect serving size if you’re serving this as an appetizer or finger food to guests.
- Serving as a lunch/snack - if you are serving this for fewer people you could go for larger slices or crusty bread and add as much of the topping as you like.
- Leftover pesto - the pistachio pesto will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days. It will likely oxidise and turn darker in colour but it’s perfectly fine to eat.
Nutrition
Calories: 230kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 292mg | Potassium: 97mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 271IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 147mg | Iron: 1mg
