maikate mushroom crostini

my love affair with bread continues

in the form of a crostini - little toasts

so cute

you can virtually put anything on a crostini and it would be good

and you look will look pretty fancy bringing a tray of crostini to your next get together

bread + veggies = love

or in this case

bread + maitake mushrooms = wow!

i LOVE finding new ingredients  - i have never seen maitake mushrooms before

sunflower had just happened to start carrying these new mushrooms

i was super excited; the pain au chocolate i was going to attempt to make this weekend went out the door, and in came the humble mushroom crostini

humble, however totally flavorful and fancy pants because its served on a crostini

crostini's are my go to party app; there is allot less harassing when you bring these

why? because they are familiar

people like familiar

some don't like mushrooms; well then, that's too bad- they can wipe off the mushrooms and go to town with the toasted bread

dried maitake mushrooms aka dancing mushroom or hen of the woods, baby bella & fresh oregano are the base of our crostini

ciabatta bread is thinly sliced, drizzled with olive oil and broiled until golden brown

then finished with a bit of celtic sea salt

the maitake mushrooms are paired with baby bellas

any combination of mushrooms would work

thyme or rosemary would also be a good substitute for the oregano

the maitake are soaked for about 30 minutes - make sure you rinse and trim the mushrooms well prior to soaking; they can be a bit sandy

the broth can be saved and used in soups



i could totally ditch the mushrooms and go straight for the bread

but that wouldn't be fair to the mushrooms and we would definitely be missing out on some goodness



sauteed mushrooms & oregano top the crostini

& sprinkled with celtic sea salt

almost too pretty to eat



a perfect accompaniment to a bowl of soup

show up with these cute lil' crostini and you will be the hit of the party

they may even let you sing dancing queen towards the end of the night

these travel well and taste wonderful at room temperatureif travelling a long distance place the mushroom mixture and bread separately and assemble on sitedon't forget the salt, salt helps the flavors of the mushrooms popvery important- don't forget the saltwrite it on your hand if you have too

Maitake Mushroom Crostini

makes 6  ~ easily doubled

you will need:

6 slices of ciabatta bread - 1/4 - 1/2 inch thin

1 1/4 cups dried maitake mushrooms ~ rinsed & trimmed well

2 cups of water to soak maitake

2 cups sliced baby bella mushrooms

1 tbsp fresh oregano - woody stems removed

1 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp celtic sea salt or other good sea salt

assembly:

rinse & trim the maitake - in a medium bowl soak in 2 cups of water for at least 30 minutes

slice ciabatta bread and drizzle slices with 1 tbsp olive oil

place on a rimmed baking sheet and broil on low until golden brown

remove from oven and set aside

over medium/high heat in a large saute pan add 1 tsp olive oil and baby bellas

saute until golden brown, add maitake mushrooms - cutting larger pieces to bite size if needed

saute for about 2 minutes & add oregano - cook for another minute

remove from heat

top each crostini with 2 tbsp of mushroom mixture

sprinkle with celtic sea salt

enjoy!

Print this Recipe