Crab and Corn Crostini

Crab and corn is a match made in heaven, is it not? Something about those two ingredients together just really sings… so it was an obvious pair when I was trying to come up with a slightly fancy, but not too fussy, appetizer. I wanted something that would (obviously) be tasty, and that would look pretty, but I didn’t want to spend 100 years making it. I think I succeeded pretty well!

Crab and Corn Crostini
serves about 12 as an appetizer

2 medium baguettes
olive oil
8 oz lump crab meat, picked over for shells
8 oz corn (fresh or frozen, preferably)
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 T mayo
1 egg, whisked
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 – 4 T minced chives
large pinch of red pepper flakes
pinch each of kosher salt and black pepper

1.) Preheat your oven to 350°, and line a baking sheet with foil. Slice your baguettes on an angle, until you have about 24 crostini. Lightly mist or brush the crostini with olive oil, and bake for about 10 minutes, until they’re just lightly golden brown and crispy.

2.) While the crostini bakes, make your crab salad. Add everything but the crab to a mixing bowl (use about 3 tablespoons of the chives, and reserve the rest for garnish), and mix it well with a spatula. Once everything else is well-combined, gently fold in the crab, so you don’t break it up too much!

3.) Once the crostini are baked and cooled slightly, spoon the mixture on to the bread. Put everything back into the oven for another 10 minutes or so, to warm the crab and corn mixture through.

4.) Remove the crostini from the oven, sprinkle with the remaining chives, and serve immediately.

Oh man, these were so good! The creamy crab mixture is a great contrast to the crunchy, toasted bread – and the sweet crab and crisp, fresh corn are perfect with the slight onion-y edge of the chives. Even better, these crostini look so pretty all lined up on a platter! Great for a cocktail party, a brunch, or a summer barbecue.

If you don’t want to fuss with topping the individual crostini, you can always just bake the crab and corn mixture in a baking dish (though I’d bake it for a bit longer – maybe 20 minutes – to make sure it warms all the way through). Serve with the toasted baguette, and let guests assemble their own appetizer!

I can’t wait for the start of corn season in the mitten,
Tina

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