In my search for new recipes, I thought about something easy, and healthy, I could make involving an ingredient that I had never cooked with. I thought about the fresh pesto I’d seen in the local Publix grocery store (pesto is by the cheese so I see it every single time I’m there, of course), but I had never had a reason to cook with it. And then I came across a pesto crostini recipe that I have actually eaten before, but never made. After I finished eating my first batch, I ended up eating it three nights in a row it was so good! So now I’m sharing…

I got all my ingredients together, as follows:

1/2 loaf of baguette
2 Tbsp. olive oil
12 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (about 1 cup)
12 bocconcini (small mozzarella balls), halved
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
4 grinds freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup pesto (try to find freshly made in the cheese section of the store)

First, heat your oven to 375. Then slice the baguette into 1/2 inch thick slices. Place them on a baking sheet and brush with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Bake until golden and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes.

Once the bread is toasted, smear evenly a bit of pesto onto each crostini. Top each piece with one half each of the tomato and bocconcini. Drizzle each with some of the remaining tablespoon of oil and season with the salt and pepper. Pop back in the oven for 1 minute until heated through.

Tasty and easy!