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Recipe: Cranberry Walnut Pesto and Prosciutto Crostini

Well, yet again New Year’s Eve has snuck up on us. If you’ve had a past twelve months like I’ve had, I’m sure you can agree that this past year sped by so quickly. Don’t they always though?

If you’re having some friends and family over to your house tomorrow to ring in 2013, here’s a nice and easy appetizer you can put together in no time featuring prosciutto, an Italian-style ham that is cured and dried, with a rich flavour and melt-in-your-mouth texture.

What you’ll need…

Pesto:

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

1/2 cup walnuts

1 cup fresh basil (firmly packed)

3 cloves garlic

1 TBSP red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

olive oil (2/3 cup approx.)

Crostini:

1 white baguette (1/4″ sliced)

250g package prosciutto

1 cup goat cheese

Directions:

First, let your oven preheat to 400 degrees. Starting with the pesto, place the first five ingredients in a food processor. Add a pinch of salt, and a good helping of ground black pepper. Slowly pour the olive oil into the food processor while pureeing. Stop once the mixture turns to a paste. Have a taste, add a bit more salt and pepper if needed. Then process a final time. Remove from processor and store in the refrigerator in a covered container until ready to assemble the crostini.

Now that your oven is preheated, spread out the baguette slices onto two baking sheets. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and let cook in the oven until the bread begins to turn golden and is nice and crispy, about 10-12 minutes. Remove and let cool.

To assemble the appetizer, place a small spoonful of goat cheese on top of each crostini, top with a ribbon of prosciutto (the packaged slices will tear apart easily into smaller pieces) and, finally, a dollop of the cranberry walnut pesto.

Can be served cold or slightly warmed up. Happy New Year!

Yields 72 pieces

Total prep time…25 min