Mushroom Pesto Crostini

This is a new and delicious twist on pesto and is a perfect appetizer when you are in the mood for something a little different.  White mushrooms are mixed with porcini mushrooms, parsley, garlic, walnuts and Parmesan cheese to make this slightly smoky and perfectly textured pesto. Making your own crostini is so easy and really is a nice detail but feel free to serve this with crackers if you don't have the time!  Enjoy!

Mushroom Pesto Crostini (adapted from foodnetwork.com)

1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
8 oz. white button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c. walnuts, toasted
2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 c. parsley
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil (plus more for drizzling crostini)
1 baguette, sliced in 36 slices
Salt and pepper

Bring a small pot of water to a boil, remove from heat and add the porcini mushrooms, making sure they are submerged in the water.  Let the mushrooms stand until they are tender, about 15 minutes.  Scoop out the mushrooms with a slotted spoon being careful not to stir any residual dirt  that may have sunk to the bottom of the pan.  Discard the mushroom water.

Combine the porcini mushrooms, white mushrooms, walnuts, garlic, parsley, and parmesan in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.  With the machine running, slowly add the 1/2 c. olive oil blending until the mushrooms are finely chopped.

Transfer the pesto to a serving bowl if serving immediately.  If you are not serving immediately store in the refrigerator with plastic wrap on top (touching the top of the pesto) to keep it from turning brown.

For the crostini, preheat the oven to 375.  Place the baguette slices on a baking sheet and drizzle each slice with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake until golden and crisp, about 10-12 minutes.  

Serve the pesto on the crostini.

Makes 36 pieces of crostini (74 calories each piece) according to my calculator on loseit.com