Just before Christmas I was asked by the lovely people at unearthed if I’d like to contribute a recipe for their blog. Of course I jumped at the chance and decided to come up with a Pugliese canapé.

You can see the the full blog post here

Puréed Fava Bean Crostini

For the purée

125g    Split Fava Beans

½         Stick of celery

½         Small onion

½         Carrot

1          Garlic clove

1          Bay Leaf

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

For the Crostini

2          Small Ciabatta rolls

2          Garlic cloves

Olive oil

2          Slices of Parma ham

15g      Pecorino

Method – makes 24 crostini Oven 200c

1. Make the purée – Wash the beans and put them in a saucepan with a dash of olive oil on a low heat.
2. Add the roughly chopped carrot, onion and celery. Cover with 300ml of water, turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 30 minutes, until the water has evaporated and the beans have softened.
3. Add 200ml of water and allow to simmer for a further 15 minutes.
4. While the beans are cooking you can prepare the crostini. Slice the ciabatta into bite size pieces and brush some olive oil onto them. Toast them in the oven at 200c for ten minutes until crisp. Peel the garlic cloves and then rub them over the pieces of bread to give it a garlic flavour. Set aside to cool.
5. Once the beans are done remove the vegetables and bay leaf. Blend with a stick blender until smooth. It should have the consistency of puree.
6. Season with a glug of olive oil and salt and pepper.
7. Top the crostini with a teaspoon of purée and then a slice of either pecorino or Parma ham.