English Pea, Mint, Parmesan and Radish Crostini | Friday Night Bites

We just experienced day light savings time this last weekend.  I know it is only one hour lost, but some years it certainly feels like more than one hour was swept away from us.  There is a lot of chatter about abolishing this archaic tradition.  I say let’s put it in the trash can and never look back.  Mother Nature will compensate for us and it may just take a few more weeks.

There are some that say the costs are substantial.  Some say it will disrupt sleep, cause more heart attacks, strokes, traffic, on the job accidents and lost productivity hours.  I guess the whole point of time zones is to coordinate economic and social activities, but changing the clocks causes confusion.  I believe most Americans don’t see value in changing the clocks.  Perhaps retailers benefit due to longer hours that people can enjoy recreation, bbq’s, shopping, sporting events and other retail enriched activities.  I am fine with time zones, I say let’s do away with the time change and move on.  Okay, enough of my whining about the loss of sleep.

On to the fun stuff – Friday Night Bites; now that I have adjusted to the loss of the hour and life as we know it has resumed, it is time to celebrate my favorite day of the week – FRIDAY!  That means the long work week is complete and wine and appetizers are in my near future.  The one advantage of day light savings time that I do like is that it now stays lighter longer.  Once we finish with El Nino, we can set up the backyard and enjoy the warm spring and summer nights with delicious appetizers and divine wine.

I was at Trader Joe’s over the week and found a beautiful bag of English Peas.  They are bright, tasty and super good for you.  Since I love a good Crostini, I thought I would create a brightly colored Crostini to enjoy with Hubby. This week I have an English Pea, Mint, Parmesan and Radish Crostini for you to enjoy.  It is simple to make and quite enjoyable with a glass Grgich Hills Fume Blanc.

English Pea, Mint, Parmesan and Radish Crostini

Makes 12 to 16

1 ½ Cup English Peas

¼ Cup Parmesan Cheese, Grated

3 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Garlic Clove, minced finely

¼ teaspoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Mint, minced

1 teaspoon Lemon Zest

6 to 8 Radishes, sliced or made into circles

12 to 16 Slices of Baguette, toasted

Fleur de Sel for garnish

Blanch the peas in boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes.  Immediately remove from pan and drain into a bowl of ice water.  Once cool, add to a food processor with the remaining ingredients and pulse until semi smooth with some bit of pea showing.

Spread about a tablespoon of pea mixture on each Crostini, then top with radish and sprinkle with a bit of fleur de sel.