Thanks Karla and Greg for using us to cater your Christmas Party last week, it was a very nice party. A giant THANK YOU to my sister, Sharon, who was my Sous Chef that day! We made a variety of appetizers, mostly vegetarian, but the Edamame and Pea Bruschetta along with the Crabcakes were the favorites!

Edamame and Pea Bruschetta

Ingredients

1 cup frozen shelled edamame

½ cup frozen peas

1 garlic clove, coarsely minced

2 scallions, chopped

¼ cup basil leaves, packed

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup parmesan cheese

Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper

1 French baguette or similar, cut into slices

Directions

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, add about a 1/2 tablespoon of salt and the edamame, cook for 4 minutes then add the peas and cook for another minute.  In the meantime, prepare a large bowl of fresh ice water to be used to cool down the edamame and peas when they complete cooking.

Remove the edamame and peas from the boiling water and quickly move them to the prepared ice bath to cool and stop cooking.  Once cooled, drain and set aside.

In a food processor, add the garlic and scallions then pulse a few times.  Next, add the basil leaves, cooled edamame and peas then pulse 3-4 times or until the mixture is chopped up within the food processor.  Stream the olive oil slowly into the mixture, while processing until everything comes together, it should look like a thick pesto.  Remove the mixture and place into a bowl then mix in the cheese, a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper.

Use a griddle or oven to grill/toast slices of French baguette then smear about a tablespoon onto each slice and serve.

Peter’s Wine Pick:  Soquel Vineyard’s Zinfandel

~Happy Cooking!