Crostini means 'little toasts' in Italian. It is toasted bread with toppings celebrated for its ability to showcase the flavours of its toppings through the simple, yet delicious, medium of toasted bread. Whether topped with rich cheeses, fresh fruits or vegetables, or sweet combinations, crostini provide a delightful crunch that complements soft or creamy textures of its toppings, creating a harmonious bite every time.

How to make crostini ahead of time?

You can easily make crostini ahead of time. Toast the bread slices until they are golden and crisp. Once cooled, store them in an airtight container at room temperature to maintain their crunch. Slice mild blue cheese and pear and store them separately in the fridge. Assemble the crostini just before serving to ensure the bread retains its texture and the toppings are fresh.

What to put on crostini?

Crostini is very versatile and can hold both sweet and savoury toppings. Enjoy savoury versions with combinations of soft blue cheese with prosciutto and fig or tomato and basil. Or go classic with smoked salmon and cream cheese. Sweet versions could feature ricotta and honey, or mascarpone and berries. Remember to balance flavours and textures: creamy with crunchy, savoury with sweet, and acidic with rich.

Crostini with blue cheese and pear

Total 15 mins

Experience a delightful mix of flavours and textures in our crostini with blue cheese and pear topped with a drizzle of honey and pecans. Serve with a cup of coffee and apple juice in the morning, or let it shine on its own whenever you are in the mood for something savoury and sweet, indulging in the moment where a few carefully chosen ingredients come together to create a complex and satisfying breakfast, snack, or appetiser.

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Ingredients

½ baguettes

1 Castello® Mild blue cheese

1 pear

1 tbsp honey

50 ml pecans

A small handful of wood sorrel

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180°C (conventional oven).

Slice the baguette into thin slices. Toast in a toaster or place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Place a thick slice of blue cheese on each bread slice.

Slice the pear thinly and arrange on top of the cheese.

Drizzle with honey and sprinkle pecan nuts on top. Top with a wood sorrel leaf.

Tip

Give the crostini the ideal texture by monitoring your baguette slices closely while they toast in the oven. You want a nice balance between crispness and a slight give so the bread does not become too hard or chewy, but it should still be more than just lightly toasted. This will create a desirable eating experience where the crostini support the toppings without overshadowing them. Use a spoon or squeeze bottle to gently drizzle the honey in a zigzag pattern to distribute it evenly, so you get to enjoy just the right amount of sweetness in each bite. Arrange the beautiful blue cheese crostini on a platter so you and your guests can enjoy the contrast of the golden-brown toast, the creamy blue cheese, the light green of the pear, and the vibrant wood sorrel. This sight will entice every guest.

Questions about crostini

If you want to know more about crostini and how it is topped with everything creamy and crunchy, keep reading the questions and answers below.

What are crostini?

Crostini means 'little toasts' in Italian. It is toasted bread with toppings celebrated for its ability to showcase the flavours of its toppings through the simple, yet delicious, medium of toasted bread. Whether topped with rich cheeses, fresh fruits or vegetables, or sweet combinations, crostini provide a delightful crunch that complements soft or creamy textures of its toppings, creating a harmonious bite every time.
How to make crostini ahead of time?

You can easily make crostini ahead of time. Toast the bread slices until they are golden and crisp. Once cooled, store them in an airtight container at room temperature to maintain their crunch. Slice mild blue cheese and pear and store them separately in the fridge. Assemble the crostini just before serving to ensure the bread retains its texture and the toppings are fresh.
What to put on crostini?

Crostini is very versatile and can hold both sweet and savoury toppings. Enjoy savoury versions with combinations of soft blue cheese with prosciutto and fig or tomato and basil. Or go classic with smoked salmon and cream cheese. Sweet versions could feature ricotta and honey, or mascarpone and berries. Remember to balance flavours and textures: creamy with crunchy, savoury with sweet, and acidic with rich.

Make flavourful cheese crostini

Whip up an easy blue cheese crostini full of flavours. Crostini is a classic Italian appetiser, and our choice of toppings ensures it will quickly become a favourite. It strikes the right balance between soft and crispy, sweet and savoury and with few ingredients, you can soon treat yourself to a lovely bite brimming with sophisticated flavours.

Rich blue cheese and fresh pear

Our delicious mild blue cheese is the star of the show as it adds a subtle yet irresistible flavour profile to the crostini. The mildness sets it apart from other blue cheeses, making it a delightful pairing for various other toppings, such as sliced pears, crunchy pecans, and sweet honey, as we use in this recipe.

The silky-smooth cheese melts in your mouth and leaves a lasting impression along with the crunch of fresh pear. The delicate mildness of the blue cheese ensures that its savoury depth enhances rather than overwhelms the natural sweetness of the pear, allowing both flavours to coexist beautifully.

Do you want to try other blue cheese combinations? Try this raspberry vinaigrette and blue cheese on sourdough bread or a savoury white pizza with blue cheese.

Topped with sweet honey and crunchy pecans

On top of the crisp bread and creamy blue cheese, the natural sweetness of honey cuts through the slight tanginess of the blue cheese, creating a delightful contrast. As the final touch, discover how pecans introduce a welcome crunch that complements the creamy cheese and the crispness of the bread. More delicious than anything is the nutty flavour it adds, which ties all the components harmoniously together.

Try it as an untraditional breakfast

Crostini offer a satisfyingly crunchy base that is perfect for different servings. Use it as a small, quick, and easy breakfast or serve it for brunch as a share-sized treat with friends and family. Imagine it beautifully served on a platter next to other brunch favourites so everyone can have a taste.

If you are looking for a more classic appetiser or snack, our blue cheese and pear crostini are a delicious choice for this, too. They make for an easy bite whether you are sitting down at a table or serving them standing reception-style.

The difference between crostini and bruschetta

Crostini and bruschetta are classic Italian appetisers that offer different ways to enjoy the delightful combination of bread and toppings. Crostini are small, bite-sized slices of bread, such as baguettes or other delicate bread types, toasted to create a crispy base for a variety of toppings. Bruschetta features larger slices of bread, like ciabatta, which are traditionally grilled to achieve a charred exterior while maintaining a soft interior. Crostini is often served as a snack or appetiser, while bruschetta can be served as an appetiser or a light meal. As for the toppings, crostini can be topped with a wide variety of ingredients, from savoury toppings like cheese, meats, and vegetables to sweet toppings like jams, honey, and fruits. Authentic bruschetta toppings consist of a simple yet flavourful combination of fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic, and olive oil.

Different toppings create different flavour experiences

Explore a myriad of flavours by experimenting with different ingredients for your crostini. Beyond the classic pairing of mild blue cheese and fresh pear, consider the rich possibilities from savoury to sweet. Try swapping the pecans with walnuts for a deeper, earthier nuttiness that complements both the cheese and the fruit. Or, for a twist on sweetness, replace honey with a drizzle of maple syrup, adding a distinct, caramel-like flavour that beautifully pairs with the mild yet slight tang of the cheese.

Or, to enhance the flavours of your toppings, consider placing your assembled blue cheese crostini back in the oven until the edges of the bread turn golden and the cheese slightly bubbles, adding a delightful warmth and toasty dimension to each bite. You can also toast the pecans on a dry pan for a few minutes to enhance their nutty flavour and add an extra layer of crunch to the blue cheese crostini.