Appetizers/ Recipe/ Vegetarian

Leeky Pear Mushroom Toasts

What time does your body naturally wake up in the morning? Are you an early riser or a late dozer? Do you nap? When do you do your best thinking? Are you usually holding a cup of coffee while you’re getting shit done? Tea? Wine? Not that wine in the morning is a bad thing. Wine is never a bad thing. Wine is always a good thing. Always.

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The reason I ask is that on Saturday morning I slept until 11:30am. I’m not bragging. I’m a pretty get-up-and-get-em kinda girl and I rarely sleep later than 8am. For some reason though, I felt so tired and unmotivated that I actually slept until 11:30am this weekend. By the time I got up the day was half gone and I hadn’t done a thing.

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For some people this makes for a great day off. For an obsessively-compulsive, productive A-type personality like me, it was torture. I spent the rest of the day trying to make up for the 3 hours I missed earlier. Blogging. Blog commenting. Job hunting. Eating. Carmen Electra-ing. Cleaning. Showering. Organizing. Grocery shopping. And then… I needed another nap. Aye. Apparently my body is telling me I need my beauty sleep. Fair enough, body. Fair. Enough.

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One dish that I made for our second annual New Years Eve feast that will not make you want a nap – that is unless you want to chow it and then go to sleep and re-live the savory experience in your most lusciously delicious dreams – is leeky pear & mushroom toasts. These little babies were inspired by Happy Yolks, the recipe slightly adjusted to include ingredients that I had access to. They were hearty, warm, not too heavy, and really a joy to eat.

Leeky Pear & Mushroom Toasts

Ingredients

  • 1 Baguette, cut into 1" slices at an angle.
  • 4 C Sliced Leeks (whites and just a touch of green).
  • 1 Lb. Fresh Wild Mushrooms, roughly chopped.
  • 1 D'Anjou Pear, diced with skins on.
  • 1 Small Cipollini Onion, minced.
  • 1 Bird's Eye Chili, thinly sliced.
  • 2 Garlic Cloves, peeled and smashed.
  • A Couple Sprigs of Fresh Thyme, stemmed & chopped.
  • Small Handful of Fresh Flat-Leaf Italian Parsley, roughly chopped.
  • 1/4 C Dry White Wine.
  • Goat Cheese, to spread.
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
  • Good Quality Balsamic Vinegar.
  • Kosher Salt & Fresh Cracked Black Pepper.

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat your broiler.
  2. Heat a few glugs of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks, stirring to coat, and cook for about 5 minutes.Add the pears, the white wine, and salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer about 5 minutes then reduce the heat to low.
  3. In a second pan, heat another glug of olive oil. Add the mushrooms, onion, thyme, and chili, seasoning with salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Allow to cook down for about 8 minutes. Toss in a glug or two of balsamic vinegar, stir, and continue cooking a further 1-2 minutes.
  4. Remove from the heat. Add the parsley.
  5. As your mushrooms cook, throw the sliced bread onto a baking sheet and under the broiler. Watch it - it'll burn quickly! Toast so the edges get nice and crispy - now you have crostinis! Remove from the heat and rub with the smashed garlic. Hello flavour!
  6. Smear the goat cheese on the crostinis, and pile with the leek mixture, followed by that of the mushrooms. Season lightly with a little salt.

 

 
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  • Aarthi
    January 18, 2012 at 4:37 PM

    What a awesome recipe…Delicious dear..

    Aarthi
    http://yummytummy-aarthi.blogspot.com/

  • Annie Smith
    January 18, 2012 at 4:54 PM

    That looks insanely delicious. I wish I weren’t living with a brood of mushroom haters.

  • Lindsey
    January 18, 2012 at 9:24 PM

    I would go to bed every night at 1:00am and sleep until 10:00 if my body had its way. And I do my best thinking in the shower. Stephen King calls it a “womb thing”.
    This recipe is a perfect example of the difference between foodies (you) and average cooks (me). I NEVER would have thought to put pears and leeks together. Like, NEVER.
    Those look super yummy.

  • Kristy Lynn
    January 19, 2012 at 11:30 PM

    @ Aarthi: thanks lovey. gonna go make my way over and say hi to you too 🙂

    @ Annie Smith: oooh those mushroom haters! i find it hard to believe that people don’t like mushrooms. it’s my opinion they just haven’t met the right one yet 😉

    @ Lindsey: sleeping or shower thinking is a womb thing? that guy is a character!

    PS. to be fair, i didn’t come up with the idea of pears and leeks. Happy Yolks did. We can be “average” cooks together 😉 you’re awesome.

  • Teresa, foodonfifth
    January 20, 2012 at 12:52 PM

    Kristy, as an avid pear lover and blogger of pear edibles I, of course, love this recipe. It is simple, but the flavors are complex…it is easy and elegant.
    As for sleep, my chances for napping only come on the weekends and vacations, but I do love a little nap when I can grab one. I am a “farmer” at heart so I tend to go to bed early and get up before the sun. I love to be up in my house in the morning in the dark sipping a cup of coffee reading the Times with a single reading light on surrounded by darkness.

  • Lori
    January 21, 2012 at 2:52 AM

    What a tasty combination! These look great. Perfect for game food snacks around here.

  • Kristy Lynn
    January 21, 2012 at 3:40 PM

    @ Teresa: inspired, i got up early before anyone else, got out my bio ethics text book, and i’m sipping tea by the light of my favorite lamp. it’s gorgeous 🙂

    @ Lori: Game snacks?! You mean like Cranium?? (I love that game!)…

  • mjskit
    January 21, 2012 at 6:27 PM

    What a fabulous combination – leeks and pears! I never would have come up with that one. I love this recipe. It sounds good and looks absolutely delicious! Nice pics!

  • Miz Helen
    January 21, 2012 at 9:39 PM

    A beautiful presentation for a very delicious recipe. We will really enjoy this recipe. Hope you are having a great week end and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen
    A New Follower

  • Chef in Training
    January 22, 2012 at 5:46 AM

    YUM! This looks delicious! Thanks for linking up to the Tuesday Talent Show! I hope to see you again next Tuesday!
    -Nikki
    Chef in Training
    http://www.chef-in-training.com

  • Kristy Lynn
    January 22, 2012 at 6:49 PM

    @ mjskit: thank you very much!

    @ Miz Helen: Thanks for having me! You made my day by “following”… Happy weekend!

    @ Chef in Training: Thanks for having me and for stopping by! See you Tuesday Nikki!

  • Stacy
    January 25, 2012 at 2:29 AM

    Yum! And I’m lovin’ the pear pics! 🙂

  • Kristy Lynn
    January 25, 2012 at 5:13 AM

    @ Stacy: Thanks sugar plum! I’m lovin my new camera! haha

  • Kirsten
    December 3, 2013 at 11:38 PM

    Kristy,
    I’ve got crazy fat leeks from the farm share–and besides your crispy leeks this looks like a lovely way to enjoy them. Thanks for giving me the link to include in my upcoming Band Fruit Fundraiser Recipe Round Up! It will be published on 12/4/2013!