Pear, feta & walnut crostini
on Feb 02, 2015, Updated Nov 23, 2022
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There is a distinct possibility that I will turn into a chunk of feta cheese before this week’s out. Yes, my serious feta cheese addiction has grabbed ahold of me with a vengeance since Mr. Scrummy and I arrived in Greece for a little visit last week. It doesn’t help that there are at least 10 varieties in even the smallest local supermarket and that you can buy big tubs of it for pretty much the same price as a tiddly little package back at home.
So what’s a girl to do but try to find a way to channel her ‘little problem’ into something lovely for today’s post? And this pear, feta & walnut crostini is what I came up with …
The inspiration for this, as for the roasted red pepper & eggplant dip in my last post, came from last week’s local market trip. As well as scooping up piles of huge ripe tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and olives for our daily (well, OK, twice daily) Greek salads, we also couldn’t resist grabbing a few of these cute little rosy pears. The idea of using them for a topping on a crostini came to me as I took a look around our kitchen here and was reminded of the lack of baking dishes, equipment and appliances. I realised that I would probably have to keep what I make on the simpler side while we’re over here … not that this is any kind of hardship! The fresh ingredients I picked up don’t really need, after all, a whole lot doing to them to make them shine.
Feta cheese and fruit and feta cheese and honey are tried and tested combinations, so I was pretty sure that combining ripe slices of pear with feta cheese and honey would go down a treat! I’ve also seen walnuts thrown into a salad with pears and cheese before, so walnuts got added to my crostini, as well. As did a little touch of fresh mint which I thought would add a welcome hint of colour and ‘oomph’ to the final taste.
The resulting crostini made a very satisfying late morning snack for myself and Mr. Scrummy. Very satisfying indeed. Just imagine those juicy, ripe pears contrasting with the sourness of the cheese, the crunchy earthiness of the walnuts, the sweet hit of honey and the touch of freshness from the chopped mint leaves. Am I making you hungry for a little snack yet?
Before piling on my toppings, I prepared my crostini bread in the traditional Italian way (and who can argue with that?) by toasting it on both sides under the grill and then rubbing it briefly with a clove of garlic and drizzling it with good quality olive oil. Then all I did was lay a slice of feta and slices of pear on each piece of toast before drizzling with honey and scattering over walnut pieces and shredded bits of fresh mint. The crostini looked very pretty like this for serving, but to be honest when I ate it I ended up breaking up the slice of feta and scattering it all over the crostini rather than keeping it at one end. If you prefer the sound of getting a bit of everything in each bite, then simply crumble up your feta and scatter your toppings a bit more haphazardly over the toast than you see in these pictures of mine.
Mmm … divine. Honey is sometimes known as the food of the gods, but I’m going to stick my neck out here and say that this is the crostini of the gods! Enjoy!
Pear, feta & walnut crostini
Ingredients
- slices of fresh crusty bread e.g. ciabatta
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped in half
- good quality extra virgin olive oil
- thin -ish slices of feta cheese
- 1 or 2 pears, chopped in half, cored and sliced into thin slices
- honey to drizzle
- walnuts, broken roughly into pieces
- fresh mint, chopped into thin shreds
Instructions
- Toast the bread on both sides under a grill. Then rub over briefly with the cut side of the garlic and drizzle with the olive oil.
- Now top each piece of toast with a slice of feta and 4 or 5 of the pear slices. Drizzle with honey, then scatter over the walnut pieces and mint. Serve while the toast is still warm.
Notes
Nutrition
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Thank you for this recipe! Reminds me of an appetizer I had at a wonderful cafe on Manly Beach in Sydney. Can’t wait to make it at here at home in Wisconsin. So delicious!!
Hello Carol. I’m so happy you found this recipe – how lovely that it took you back to a great food experience! Now you’ve reminded me to make these again some time soon too! 🙂
This is such a delicious combination, Helen, and I could totally make a meal out of this! 🙂
Hi, Marcie! Now you’ve just given me a great idea … make these for dinner one day!!
Oh Helen these look perfect! I love the simplicity of it which to me always guarantees that it’ll taste amazing. I’m also (as you know) obsessed with feta!! Love the layering!
Hi Jess! Thank you so much! This is one of my favourite recent recipes. These tasted so good!
Haha, I think I may turn into a chunk of feta with you, Helen!! I might turn into a crostini one of these days! I love all the flavors going on in here! Such a perfect combo 🙂
Oh, great! So happy we’re going to be 2 chunks of feta together! 🙂
I need to go to Greece because I want to become a cube of feta, too! This looks delicious, and I love the mild flavors of pear and walnut with the bold feta. Looks divine!
Oh, I’m so happy there’s going to be a little group of feta cubes around here … not just me! I guess you’re right that the mild flavours here contrast nicely with the stronger feta! 🙂
Helen I love crostinis which are fruit based and then you add cheese and honey!! Just yumm and I love that you added walnuts too!
Hello, Ami … so glad you like these cute and tasty little snacks!