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sweet pea bruschetta with ricotta, pecorino cheese and mint

Good, crusty bread and frozen sweet peas make this pea bruschetta a quick, elegant appetizer or snack — just top with creamy ricotta and grated pecorino cheese.

Sweet Pea Bruschetta with Ricotta and Mint

I crave bread every day. Ideally, that bread has a dark, chewy crust and the inside is dense, moist and full of flavor. Do you know what I’m talking about?

With bread like that, the best thing to do is keep it simple, which means eating it as is, or making this sweet pea bruschetta. Pea bruschetta make perfect spring or summer snacks or appetizers when friends come over.

Sweet pea bruschetta with ricotta, mint and pecorino

The toppings on this easy elegant bruschetta are simple — be sure to use creamy whole milk ricotta and fresh mint.

Sweet peas make a delicious bruschetta toppting fresh mint

Fresh pea season is such a brief event that frozen peas are usually the ones I turn to. And you know what? Frozen peas are often even better than fresh ones. Sometimes after all the work of shucking fresh peas, I find them starchy, hard and not very sweet.

Sweet pea bruschetta with ricotta, mint and pecorino

To dress these bruschetta up even more, try grating fresh lemon zest over the ricotta before spreading it on the toasted bread. Serve pea bruschetta as an appetizer or with bowl or soup or big salad.

sweet pea bruschetta with ricotta, pecorino cheese and mint
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sweet pea bruschetta with ricotta, pecorino cheese and mint

Prep

Cook

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Yield 4 servings

Serve the bruschetta sliced in half to make appetizer-size servings.

Substitute fresh basil for the mint.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup shelled peas, fresh or frozen
  • Kosher salt
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • 4 ¾-inch thick slices crusty bread
  • 1 garlic clove
  • Handful fresh mint leaves, sliced thin
  • 2 ounce chunk Pecorino Romano cheese

Instructions

  1. Drain the ricotta for about 30 minutes in a fine mesh colander or cheesecloth-lined strainer set over a bowl.
  2. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil; add a tablespoon of salt and the peas. Cook 1 or 2 minutes; drain and transfer to a bowl. Mash the peas to a coarse consistency using a potato masher or wooden spoon along with 2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil, pepper and more salt to taste.
  3. Heat a griddle or grill to medium high heat. Brush the bread on both sides with olive oil and toast until dark golden brown on both sides. Remove the toasted bread from the griddle and scrape the garlic clove over the tops.
  4. Spread some ricotta over the bread, sprinkle with mint and spoon some peas over. Use a vegetable peeler to shave Pecorino cheese over each bruschetta. Drizzle with olive oil before serving warm or at room temperature

Courses appetizer

Cuisine vegetables

Reader Interactions

Comments

  5. I love peas and mint. And ricotta. And bruschetta. I make something similar, but I make a pea puree and put it atop bruschetta. Have you ever tried Pecorino Toscano? It is really wonderful.

    Congratulations on a beautiful post. It looks like spring, and your photography and styling are, as always, beautiful. Complimenti, amica!

    Reply

    • Adri, your version sounds like something I’d be happy to taste 🙂

      I try to bring home Pecorino Toscano whenever I find it. We lack great cheesemongers here, but once in a while my Whole Foods will have it – happiness! The Pecorino I’m using now actually comes from Costco. It’s much younger – less sharp – and creamier in texture than the dry pieces I normally get for grating. I’m enjoying it, as it reminds me of a Toscano.
      Grazie!

      Reply

  11. Hi Karen; you’ve got a really nice blog.
    And this recipe… it’s really my kind of food!
    It tastes spring!
    Have a nice day
    Roberta

    Reply

  12. I absolutely love your recipe! I am writing vegetarian recipe round ups on my blog in 2019 for people who are trying to make more meat-free meals (everyone has to start somewhere). I would love to feature you. You can check out my blog (for beginner environmentalists) at sunshineguerrilla.com. Is it alright if I share this link to your recipe?

    Reply

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