Crostini Two Ways: Bruschetta and Navy Bean Dip

We had a delicious multigrain baguette in the house, as well as lots of leftover beans from my soup experiment, so I decided to make crostini with a couple of toppings.

Crostini is really just a fancy name for thinly sliced, toasted bread.  This recipe is a great guide.  I very thinly sliced the multigrain baguette, put the slices on a baking sheet and brushed them with olive oil, and sprinkled on the black pepper.  I let the slices toast for about 17 minutes until they were golden and toasty.

For the two toppings, I first decided to do a traditional bruschetta topping.  Since I think this mix benefits from some marinating time, I did this earlier this afternoon while my soup was cooking.  I diced a package of cherry tomatoes, finely diced a medium red onion and a made a chiffonade with few handfuls of basil.  I then stirred in three minced garlic cloves, a generous pour of olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  I was worried that I overdid it with the garlic, but the ratio ended up being fine.

For the second topping, the navy bean dip, I broke out the food processor.  First, I pulverized four cloves of garlic.  I then added in three generous cups of the cooked navy beans and a handful of curly parsley and pulsed the mixture until the beans were somewhat blended. 

Next, I added the juice of one lemon.  A trick I use when juicing a lemon is to put a mesh strainer directly over the bowl (or, in this case, the processor).  As you squeeze the lemon, the strainer will catch the seeds and the pulp, and all of your lemon juice goes right in the recipe.

I then seasoned the bean mixture with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and gave it another pulse to mix.  After scraping down the bowl, I poured some olive oil down the small feed tube, pulsing the mixture again to combine.

I then served the two toppings along with the crostini.  We enjoyed both toppings, but especially scarfed down the bean dip, which husband said was "incredibly fresh."   I saw him licking the spoon later, so I know he wasn't lying!  The bean dip would also be nice with veggies, and would provide a nice protein kick.  I think it would also be a nice sandwich spread or wrap filling, given how nice and creamy it is.