Cranberry
Pomegranate
Crostini
A bright, fresh, healthy appetizer for the holidays and
beyond. Serve as a relish to pair with roast poultry, or grilled
shrimp. It is excellent on top of a thinly sliced baguette
with a swish of light cream cheese. Add to cheese and
Charcuterie boards as an appetizer course.
• 12 oz bag of fresh cranberries, washed
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 TBS sugar
• ¼ cup fresh orange juice
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 tsp Sriracha sauce
• ½ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
• Zest from one orange, reserve some for garnish
• 1 cup pomegranate arils reserve a few for garnish
• Finely chopped fresh cilantro or parsley for garnish
For the Crostini:
• 1 good quality baguette, sliced thin
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 8 ounces light cream cheese, softened
Place the cranberries, ginger, sugar, honey, orange juice,
and Sriracha in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse on and
off several times till cranberries are coarsely chopped. Don’t
process too much. Add cilantro or parsley and pulse a few
more times. Not too much, you want cilantro bits to be
visible and mixture to be a bit chunky. Transfer to a bowl and
add pomegranate arils and orange zest. Refrigerate for at
least 2 hours or till ready to use.
For the crostini, preheat oven to 350˚F. Line 2 sheet pans
parchment paper, if desired for easy clean up. Place
baguette slices on prepared pans. Brush lightly with oil.
Sprinkle lightly with salt and a grind of pepper. Bake for 14-
18 minutes or until golden.
To assemble bruschetta, spread about 1 teaspoon each
crostini. Top with a spoon of the Cranberry Relish. Garnish
with a bit of orange zest and pinch of fresh chopped cilantro
or parsley. Serve.