Sweet Pea Pesto Crostini

Week 479. Year 10. Tommy is 43. Spring cleaning and pit maintenance. The mortar checked, the grate inspected, the tools organized. The business running steady — DeShawn handling the big jobs, Marcus on the commercial side, the name Beaumont on the vans and the invoices and the reputation. Rémy (13) in school, cooking and fishing. The garden is producing. The bayou is running. The roux is turning.

Made shrimp remoulade this week — the kind of food that fills the house with the smell of Louisiana and the knowledge that whoever walks through the door is walking into a home where the stove is on and the food is ready and the welcome is unconditional. The meal was the day. The day was the meal. Both were good. Come eat, cher.

The shrimp remoulade was the meal, but spring in Louisiana means the garden is always offering something extra — and this week it was peas, bright and sweet and about as alive as anything growing out there by the bayou. Rémy helped shell them, same easy kitchen rhythm we’ve fallen into, and I figured if we were already feeding people well, we’d start them right with something that tasted like the season before it even got to the table. Sweet pea pesto crostini — simple, green, and honest, the way spring ought to be.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 French baguette, sliced 1/2 inch thick (about 24 slices)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for brushing
2 cups fresh or frozen sweet peas, thawed if frozen
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Red pepper flakes, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Toast the crostini. Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and brush both sides lightly with olive oil. Bake for 8—10 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until golden and crisp at the edges. Remove and let cool slightly.
Blanch the peas. Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add peas and cook for 90 seconds, then immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and preserve their bright green color. Drain well and pat dry.
Make the pesto. Add the peas, basil, mint, garlic, Parmesan, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper to a food processor. Pulse 4—5 times to break everything down, then stream in 3 tablespoons of olive oil with the machine running. Process until mostly smooth but with a little texture remaining. Taste and adjust salt or lemon as needed.
Assemble. Spoon or spread a generous tablespoon of sweet pea pesto onto each toasted crostini. Arrange on a serving platter.
Garnish and serve. Finish with a light dusting of extra Parmesan and a pinch of red pepper flakes if you like a little heat. Serve immediately while the crostini are still crisp.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sweet Pea Pesto Crostini — Spring on the Bayou, One Bite at a Time