Author Notes
Nothing food wise signifies the beginning of spring quite like fresh mint, bright zesty lemon and sweet, sweet peas. Any chance to slather cheese on to bread and then pile it high with flavour and I am there. This recipe require minimal effort. As long as you can grill bread, toss peas together and spread goats cheese on bread you're good to go. This is my way of trying to grab hold of spring and make it stay. —Rachel Knight
Ingredients
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1/2
french baguette, 1 cm slices
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150 grams
soft goats cheese, preferably a light & lemony one
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200 grams
frozen peas, or fresh if you have them
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10
mint leaves, finely shredded
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1
lemon, all the zest and half the juice
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generous pinches
pepper & salt
Directions
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Start by making the whipped goats cheese. Place the goats cheese, with a little reserved separately for sprinkling, in a large bowl and add a generous pinch of pepper and half the lemon zest. Whip all together till light and smooth. Place in the fridge to chill.
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Place a griddle pan on a medium heat and leave to heat up, or if you have a BBQ fire it up. Once the pan/BBQ is hot, place the sliced bread in a single layer and leave till nicely griddled on one side. Once toasted on one side, flip over and cook on the other side.
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While the bread is cooking place the peas in a small pan and pour over a kettle of boiling water to cover the peas. Turn on the heat and simmer for 3 minutes until the peas are hot but not too soft. Drain the peas.
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Place the drained peas in a pestle and mortar, or a processor, add the remaining lemon zest, the lemon juice, chopped mint, generous pinch of pepper and a pinch of salt. Bash the ingredients to release all the flavours but not till a paste is created - you still want some texture left.
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Place the bread on a board with the bowl of goats cheese and the mortar of pea mix. If you don't have a mortar just put the mixture into a small serving dish. Let people help them selves by spreading a slice of toast with a thick layer of cheese and piling high the pea mixture on top. Sprinkle each slice with a little reserved goats cheese and some fresh lemon zest.
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