Artichoke Party Toasts

When a friend asked me to bring a simple appetizer to her New Year’s Eve celebration, I remembered a recipe I had seen in an old issue of Bon Appétit. And then I channeled my amigas Marci and Anna—both great party givers—for inspiration. Marci is famous for her cheese toasts, rounds of sourdough bread topped with bubbling, golden goodness. A tray of these treats, the toasts still warm from their trip under the broiler, vanishes quickly as it’s passed to guests. Anna’s friends hope her table will include a dish of her hot artichoke dip with bread slices or chips nearby. Sizzling from its time in the oven, it arrives tempting anyone who is nearby to join in the food fun.

These artichoke party toasts are a nod to my talented friends as well as a riff on a recipe I found for “Artichoke Bruschetta” in the January 1999 issue of Bon Appétit. Shared by reader Harriett Tupler in the “Too Busy to Cook” column, the bruschetta certainly looked like a quick and easy appetizer. Tupler used only 4 ingredients for the topping: marinated artichokes, grated Romano cheese, chopped red onion, and mayonnaise. I did start with drained marinated artichoke hearts, but I changed a few things, too.

Tupler suggested spreading the topping on freshly sliced baguette rounds, just as Marci does. I found a ciabatta baguette at my local grocery that had a slightly rectangular shape, and I thought it would be a good base for the toasts.

I decided to first briefly sauté the red onion—along with some minced garlic—to keep the onion from overpowering the toasts.  Next, I added a few more flavors—chopped capers and green stuffed olives (I like the bright spot of color that the pimento provides) to bring a briny note to the toasts. For a bit of green and some freshness, I minced a tablespoon of parsley. I also swapped out Parmesan for the Romano (Anna uses Parmesan) and used less mayonnaise than Tupler had called for.

Thinly spread on the bread rounds, the artichoke topping sizzles beneath the broiler. The edges of the toasts turn a golden color while the topping bronzes and bubbles.

Pulled from the oven and placed on a platter, they’re ready to pass to your guests. Crisp, toasted edges surround the warm artichoke spread, flecked with golden melted cheese.  It’s party time!

Artichoke Party Toasts

Dawn Dobie

Bubbling cheesy artichoke spread tops baguette rounds in this crowd-pleasing appetizer

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Servings 8

Ingredients

  

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/3 cup finely diced red onion
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 7 ounces marinated artichokes drained and chopped
• 5 large pimento-stuffed olives finely chopped (totaling 2-3 tablespoons chopped olives)
• 2 tablespoons capers drained and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 thin baguette cut into 1/4-inch slices

Instructions

 

• Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until tender. Add minced garlic and continue cooking 1 minute, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and transfer mixture to a container to cool off.
• While the onion is cooking, you can chop the artichokes, olives, capers, and parsley.
• Mix all the chopped ingredients together with the red onion mixture, tossing with a fork to blend. Add the mayonnaise and again stir to blend.
• Add the Parmesan cheese and stir until combined with artichoke mixture. It may seem stiff. That’s ok.
• Preheat broiler in oven.
• Spread a couple of teaspoons of artichoke mixture on each slice of bread, trying to make it even. Place on baking sheet (I covered mine with foil.), leaving a bit of space between each piece of bread. Broil for 2-5 minutes or until edges of bread are golden brown and artichoke mixture is bubbling and bronzed.
• Transfer to serving platter and make your guests happy!

Notes

Artichoke spread can be assembled a day ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate. Allow to come to room temperature for 30 minutes before spreading on bread rounds.

Adapted from Harriet Tupler in Bon Appétit (January 1999)