Smashed Cucumber Crostinis

Bruschettas taste like summer…but have you tried smashed cucumber crostinis?

The Italians really know how to celebrate seasonal produce and bring the together in simple dishes. Ripe tomatoes on crusty, garlicky toast - what a beautiful and yet simple combination.

Now that I’ve emphasise how incredible bruschetta are and how much I ADORE bruschetta. Let me talk about the smashed cucumber crostini. It’s the same concept, really. Crunchy, crisp baguette, topped with seasonal produce BUT the spicy part… it’s inspired by a smashed cucumber salad!

I cook all recipes, and love all food. I really don’t discriminate, but the recipes I like to share here are recipes that highlight asian flavours, the ones I grew up with, and took for granted. So this is a twist on a very classic entree, but the asian flavours to change things up a bit.

How this recipe came to be…

I am a teacher and work at a highschool - I’ve been doing this for nearly 15 years. One of my favourite things to do is run the Hospitality Club, where I get to work with students, upskill them and share real world food industry experience with them.

We recently catered for the school Art Show and I always get the students involved in developing the menu. This year, we had 5 savoury canapes and 2 sweet canapes. They were all given the design brief and had a big brainstorm session to come up with ideas.

Because they are young and have limited exposure to these types of menus, they usually start with googling “canapes” and get ideas from that - we’ve all been there! And of course, bruschetta came up in the search page. So, long story short, this was our interpretation of bruschetta, drawing inspiration from a classic, and putting a twist on it. We dressed it the way we do in my workshops, and the kids couldn’t believe how it came together.

I actually then used this recipe for a Friendsmas dinner a few weeks after we catered the event, because it was so yummy!

I really do hope you like it too. Perfect for summer catch-ups, warm Festive meals…. or just because.

The Dish

Okay, so what does it compose of?

A really nice, chewy, almost dense, baquette. Sliced and toasted with olive oil until crunchy.

Topped with a fried shallot labneh - fusion flavours, anyone?!

Then topped again with a CHOPPED (not smashed, I know), cucumber that is dressed with chilli oil, soy, sesame, vinegar, honey and topped with coriander and fried shallots.

And what do you get? Texturally, crunch - but different types, bread crunch and the fresh cucumber crunch, creamy labneh, fresh herbs. It’s really quite a refreshing bite that celebrates summer produce almost just as much as the bruschetta. But I reckon, a WAY better conversation starter.

Smashed Cucumber Crostini

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Yield: 30

Author: Cristina Chang

Prep time: 10 MinInactive time: 5 HourTotal time: 5 H & 10 M

Easy Summer recipe smashed cucumber salad crostini canapes. Great starter or entree for the festive season! Inspired by summer produce and bruschetta.

Ingredients

Smashed Cucumber Crostini

• 1 baguette
• Olive Oil
• 2 cups of Greek Yogurt
• 1/4 cup of fried shallots
• 1 english cucumber or 2 lebanese cucumbers
• 1 Tbsp each of soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, rice vinegar
• Chilli oil to taste
• Fresh coriander, chopped
• Fried Shallots

Instructions

1. Slice the baguette into 1 cm slices. I like to do this on a slight diagonal, just note that the bigger the diagonal, the bigger the crostini. Depending on how much bread you snack on while you do this, you should get about 26-30 pieces. Give or take a few - it’s fine! They’re great with a slice of cheese if you have extras.
2. Place the baguette slices on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in a 180C oven for 12 minutes until slightly golden and the bread has dried all the way through.
3. An optional step - you can lightly salt the bread and scrape some fresh garlic for extra fragrance, just like the Italians! You can store this (once cooled) in an airtight container for a few days, so I like to do this ahead of a dinner or event.
4. Place a sieve over a bowl and line with a cheese cloth/clean tea towel/Chux cloth. Pour the yogurt on the cloth of choice and fold the edge of the cloth over the yogurt. Place this contraption in the fridge for at least 5 hours, or overnight (for a thicker labnah). I like mine thicc, so I also do this step the day before!
5. Once you’re happy with the thickness, stir through the fried shallots and season to taste.
6. Trim the cucumber and dice into 1cm cubes. Add to a bowl and generously salt. Set this aside for at least 15 minutes and up to an hour. Then place in a clean tea towel/cheese cloth/Chux, and squeeze out all of the water. This step will remove the water that will dilute the dressing, but also retain the crunch of the cucumbers!
7. Mix the dressing ingredients together and adjust to taste. Add to the cucumbers.
8. To assemble, pipe or spread the labnah over the crostini. Top with cucumbers, chopped coriander, fried shallots and more chilli oil.

Notes

Get your baguette from a nice bakery - the ones from coles are too 'holey' and are no good for this!