“Whenever I have friends over, I usually start with something on grilled bread,” says Busuttil Nishimura. “These bruschette are great because, if you use frozen peas, they are not just for spring, although eating them in spring does feel very right. The bread can be grilled and the topping made ahead of time, with assembly taking place just before serving.”
Serves 8
Ingredients
350g fresh shelled peas or frozen baby peas
2 garlic cloves
Juice of 1⁄2 lemon, plus extra juice and finely grated zest to serve
Handful each of mint leaves and parsley leaves
30g Pecorino Romano, grated, plus extra to serve
80ml (1⁄3 cup) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Sea salt and black pepper 4 slices of sourdough
2 × 100g buffalo mozzarella balls, roughly torn, at room temperature
8 anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained
Method
Blanch the peas until tender, drain and refresh under cold water. Reserve 50g (1⁄3 cup) of the peas and set aside.
Finely grate one of the garlic cloves and place in a food processor with the peas, the lemon juice, mint, parsley and Pecorino Romano. Process to a fairly smooth mixture, scraping the side of the bowl if needed. Stream in the olive oil, process again to combine and season to taste. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the reserved peas. Set aside.
Grill both sides of the bread on a grill plate until golden and slightly charred on both sides. Halve the remaining garlic clove and rub one side of the grilled bread with the cut side of the garlic. Place the bread on a serving plate and drizzle with some extra olive oil. Top with some mozzarella, follow with a spoonful of the pea mixture and finish by draping over an anchovy fillet. Top with some lemon zest and extra lemon juice, another drizzle of olive oil, a scattering of extra Pecorino Romano and season with salt and pepper. Cut each slice in half to serve as a snack.
Good Cooking Every Day (Pan Macmillan Australia, RRP $44.99) is available now at such great Victorian bookstores as Readings, Books for Cooks and Hill of Content.