Crostini makes for the most perfect appetizer (or dinner, lunch, breakfast, or brunch for that matter). They're bite-sized, fun-loving, and you can make them into anything your heart desires. Even the bread itself is so easy to elevate..add parmesan, a fancy butter, toasted nuts, or even some extra spices before you add your topping.
Flank Steak Crostini
The magic behind this particular crostini is the marinated flank steak. I used a wide variety of seasonings to impart an abundance of flavors. Only about an hour is needed for this process (if you have the time). Also, I would suggest leaving the steak on the counter for about 20 minutes before searing. With flank steak, everything is about the way you slice it, you can avoid a tough, chewy mess if you slice against the grain as opposed to with the grain. For crostini, in particular, I would recommend thin pieces.
White wine Brussels Sprouts Crostini
This crostini is fairly easy to make but attention to detail is important. Additionally, it helps if you have all prep work completed beforehand which includes toasting the bread. Cut your Brussels sprouts in half, and start them in the pan with olive oil.
Once they have caramelized on each side (this should take a couple minutes on each side) add in the wine, vegetable broth bell pepper, salt, and pepper, cook them until they're tender and all of the liquid has reduced. This will be a slightly slower process than before. The full instructions are listed below but I wanted to give you an idea of what you're looking for. When the sprouts are tenders all that's left is to assemble
About the extra Brussels Sprouts
Now, this recipe only calls for 4 sprouts because they will be cut in half and will yield 8 crostini. As you can see here, I will have basically a whole bag leftover which is fine with me because I can just freeze them for use over time. If you'd rather not have so much leftover, I suggest finding a place that sells them individually.
General necessities
There are a couple of things I did to each one that will be standard throughout which is...I brushed both sides of the slices of bread with olive oil and baked them in the oven at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. The purpose of doing this is to create a thicker exterior of bread so the integrity isn't lost when adding any moisture-rich ingredients. In so many words, toast the bread so it doesn't get soggy. I used a French baguette for this recipe and each piece was sliced about half an inch thick.
Final thoughts
The serving size on these will vary depending on thr occassion but roughly speaking you can expect about 6 slices for each one. For organization sake, I'll go ahead and divide the rest of this blog into 3 sections to go along with the 3 different types of crostini I made. I'll put a comprehensive recipe including all thre at the bottom on my recipe card. Grab a snack and come on back...this post will be quite lengthy but I'm sure you'll enjoy it!
Crostini Duo
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 16 crostini-8 Brussels Sprout and 8 Steak 1x
Description
Fancy Crostini: Two Ways- one with flank steak and cilantro crema and the other with Brussels Sprouts, Fontina cheese and roasted bell peppers, both are equally delicious.
Ingredients
1 French Baguette
olive oil for brushing
For the Brussels Sprouts
⅓ cup roasted red bell peppers, sliced
4 Brussels sprouts
¼ cup white wine
¼ vegetable broth
1 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1-oz Fontina cheese, cut into 6 pieces
1 tbsp toasted almonds
pinch of salt and pepper
For the steak
4 ounces flank steak
seasoning blend of equal parts granulated garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika
For the crema:
¼ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
For the Brussels Sprouts
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Slice each sprout in half. In a pan with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, cook each sprout for about 2 minutes on each side-they should have browned slightly. Add in wine, broth, bell peppers, salt, and pepper, and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes on medium heat while liquid reduces. Flip half-way in between. At the end of 5-6 minutes, sprouts should be fork-tender, and very little liquid should remain.
- Place each sprout with a bit of bell pepper on top of a piece of toasted bread. Top with a piece of cheese. Place crostini in the oven until cheese has melted. Remove and top with toasted almonds.
For the steak
- Prepare cilantro crema by combining all ingredients; mix well. Place a small dollop of crema on top of each crostini piece before adding steak.
- Cook previously marinated steak to desired temperature. Let steak rest for 10 minutes before slicing into 8 thin ribbons against the grain. Place steak atop cilantro crema
Notes
* If making both recipes, cook steak and Brussels Sprouts simultaneously to maximize time.
*Marinate steak for an hour beforehand if possible
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
I recently made this dish. Delicious!
This was absolutely delicious. Look out Morton’s