Garden Puree Bruschetta

I have been able to do a lot of shopping at the farmer's market lately. I am both impressed and excited about the new and improved market this year. I have found many things that were not available before. I noticed that a lot of my recent finds from the market coincide with Tyler's new book, Dinner at My Place. I have several recipes bookmarked to make in the next couple weeks. I have been eyeing this recipe for bruschetta ever since I first received this cookbook. I was awed by the color of the puree and knew instantly that I would love this recipe. I was lucky enough to find all the vegetables and a whole wheat baguette at the farmer's market Saturday.

GARDEN PUREE BRUSCHETTA, by Tyler Florence, Dinner at My Place

• 1/2 pound sugar snap peas, trimmed
• 1 pound English peas, shelled, or 1 cup frozen petite peas
• 1/2 pound asparagus, tips only (2-1/2" pieces)
• 1/2 pound haricot verts or tender green beans, trimmed
• 2/3 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 3 green onions, green parts only, roughly chopped
• extra-virgin olive oil
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 bunch chopped fresh chives (about 8 chives), for garnish
• 1 French baguette
• extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves

Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the sugar snap peas, English peas, asparagus tips, and haricot verts and cook about 3 minutes, until bright green and crisp-tender. (If you're using frozen peas, add them during the last minute of cooking). Drain, transfer to a bowl of salated ice water to stop cooking, and drain again. Puree vegetables in a food processor with the ricotta, green onion, a drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Garnish with chives.

Prepare the Crostini by cutting the baguette into thin slices. Drizzle slices with oil and place on a roasting tray. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown on both sides. Remove from oven and rub with a peeled, cut clove of garlic while bread is still warm. Serve crostini with vegetable and cheese puree.

The blanching of the vegetables allows the puree to become a vibrant green color. Blanching the veggies also alows the veggies to keep most of their nutritional content. I would say that this is a fairly healthy dish, especially when paired with a whole wheat baguette. Tyler calls for whole-milk ricotta, but I only had part-skim and it worked out just fine. I really enjoyed this as a light lunch. I think it would make a great appetizer/crudite for spring or summer. I am toying with the idea of using the leftover puree as a filling in a veggie lasagna.

If you love green veggies, then this recipe is a must try!!

I am submitting this recipe to Tyler Florence Fridays. Head on over to the TFF site to see what everyone is making this week. There is always a great variety of delicious dishes.