New Year’s Plant-Based Crostini
WITH FILET, HORSERADISH CREAM, AND PICKLED PEARL ONIONS
If you have hosting imposter syndrome (we all do, babe) then let these crostini be your salvation. It’s a little known fact that learning how to add appetizers to your meals is the single easiest way to gain hosting street cred (and inner peace). It’s kinda like the first time you correctly match an article of clothing that isn’t black or some shade of beige. It’s a signal to the world that you have burst from the chrysalis of amateurism into a fierce, sexy, slightly less self-conscious butterfly. In other words, you kinda know what you’re doing. But it doesn’t stop there. Appetizers have all kinds of benefits. Feeding people right when they arrive gives you more time to finish the mains, arrange the flowers, and rush to the store last minute because you forgot little Timmy is allergic to god damned carrots. So, this holiday season, do your guests, yourself, and your tired body (it’s been a year, huh?) a favor and whip up these easy yet extremely fancy crostini with tender #plantbased steak slices and horseradish cream. Everybody will be grateful. And it will give you just enough time to finish folding the napkin swans.
Ingredients
Horseradish Cream
- ¼ cup / 60 g thick plant-based yogurt
- 3 tbsp plant-based mayonnaise
- 2 tsp horseradish (grated and finely chopped)
- ½ tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- A pinch of cracked black pepper
Crostini
- 1 rustic baguette (sliced into 14 slices, each 1.5-2 cm/0.6-0.8 inches thick)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
Thick-Cut Filet
- 2 Thick-Cut Filets
- ½ tsp salt
- A pinch of cracked black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme or rosemary
To finish
- A small bunch of chives (finely sliced)
- Pickled pearl onions
- Flaky sea salt
SERVES 6-8 / 25 MINUTES
preparation
Horseradish Cream
- In a bowl, combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, horseradish, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and mix.
- Cover with cling film and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
Crostini
- Slice a baguette into 14 slices, each 1.5-2 cm /0.6-0.8 inches thick.
- Add olive oil to a pan and heat over medium heat. Once hot, add slices of bread and toast for 3 minutes on each side. Place a heavy pan or chef’s press on top of the bread to increase contact with the pan and achieve even browning.
- Once the bread is nicely toasted on both sides, rub it with a garlic clove. Leave it in the pan to keep it warm while you prepare the filet.
Thick-Cut Filet
- Remove the filets from the packaging and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Once hot, add filets and thyme to the pan. Cook for 8-9 minutes until nicely browned on all sides.
- Remove from the pan, and slice each filet into 7 slices.
Assembly
- Spoon a bit of horseradish cream on each piece of bread, and top it with a slice of filet.
- Add another spoonful of horseradish cream in the middle of each slice of filet.
- Top with 2-3 pickled pearl onions and a sprinkle of finely sliced chives.
