spinach artichoke toasts
The formal name is crostini, but consider this the best pizza-ish-y dinner you will have sans pizza dough. Sans rise times. Sans yeast. Sans waiting. Don’t get me wrong, the pizza version will knock your socks off, but I just happened to have twice the amount of spinachy artichoke goodness with only one ball of boozy crust meaning, meaning I got to plan out the method in which we destroyed (because we in fact did) the toppings. As a dip with some chips, or piled on pita bread — excellent. By itself with perhaps a poached egg on top (creamed spinach style) — outstanding. Slathered on thick pieces of french bread that have been placed under the broiler until golden brown and crunchy with extra cheese melted until blistery and brown on top — I don’t have words people.
There were a few moans, a few hoarding of plates, a few evil stare downs from across the table as we guarded our pile of spinach artichoke pizza-like toasts, formally known as crostini, and once we finished every last crumb we cried, and cried again. I even got sad little puppy dog eyes from that person sitting across from me as he begged for seconds, but unfortunately, like I said, we destroyed all twenty-five pizza-ish-y crostini toasts and so he, along with myself, begged myself to make it again, and I did. Then the begging continued, and well, I couldn’t say no to him or me, so again I made it a third time. And people, I think we could live on bread and spinach artichoke pizza-ish-y toasts for the rest of our lives.
One Year Ago: Pan Roasted Chicken Breast with Sage Vermouth Sauce
Spinach Artichoke Toasts
Makes 25 pizza-ish-y crostini toasts
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
10 ounces fresh spinach
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups asiago cheese, grated
1 cup parmesan, grated
1/2 cup mozzarella, grated
1 pound artichokes, trimmed
2 lemons
8 ounces creme fraishe
1 baguette, cut diagonally into 1-inch thick pieces
Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
Melt two tablespoons butter in a large pot. Once melted add onion and cook until soft and translucent. Add garlic and cook for 30 more seconds. Remove from pan and set aside. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and add spinach. Cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Remove spinach from pan and drain of excess moisture. While spinach is draining begin to trim artichokes. Cut up both lemons and place in cold water. As you trim artichokes place in lemon water to prevent browning. Once all the artichokes are trimmed and the hearts are submerged in the lemon water, begin chopping the artichokes into small pieces. Place chopped artichokes in a large bowl. Squeeze out any excess moisture that has not drained from spinach and place spinach in the bowl with artichokes. Add onion mixture and mix together. Add the asiago and parmesan and mix well. Add creme fraishe mixing until everything is incorporated. Season with salt and pepper.
Brush both sides of bread with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Place on center rack for 5 minutes per side, or until both sides are golden brown. Remove toasts from pan and repeat process until all bread slices have been toasted.
Place oven rack in upper most rung. Preheat broiler.
Line sheet pan with parchment paper (don’t skip! I learned the hard way after a week of soaking and scraping my pan from melted cheese.)
Line toasts on sheet and pile with spinach artichoke mixtures on top. Sprinkle mozzarella on top and place directly under the broiler for 1 – 2 minutes or until the cheese has melted and started to blister and brown.
Remove from oven and repeat process until all toasts have been broiled.
Eat. Enjoy. Make again.
Conversions & Equivalents
Volume | Baking | Metric | Pan Size | Temperature | Oven | Other
1/2 teaspoon
=
30 drops
1 teaspoon
=
1/3 tablespoon OR 60 drops
3 teaspoon
=
1 tablespoon or 1/2 fluid ounce
1/2 tablespoon
=
1 1/2 teaspoons
1 tablespoon
=
3 teaspoons or 1/2 fluid ounce
2 tablespoons
=
1/8 cup or 1 fluid ounce
3 tablespoons
=
1 1/2 fluid ounces
4 tablespoons
=
1 1/4 cup or 2 fluid ounces
5 1/3 tablespoons
=
1/3 cup or 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon
8 tablespoons
=
1/2 cup or 4 fluid ounces
10 2/3 tablespoons
=
2/3 cup or 10 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons
12 tablespoons
=
3/4 cup or 6 fluid ounces
16 tablespoons
=
1 cup or 8 fluid ounces or 1/2 pint
1/8 cup
=
2 tablespoons or 1 fluid ounce
1/4 cup
=
4 tablespoons or 2 fluid ounces
1/3 cup
=
5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon
3/8 cup
=
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons
1/2 cup
=
8 tablespoons or 4 fluid ounces
2/3 cup
=
10 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons
5/8 cup
=
1/2 cup + 2 teaspoons
3/4 cup
=
12 tablespoons or 6 fluid ounces
7/8 cup
=
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons
1 cup
=
16 tablespoons or 1/2 pint or 8 fluid ounces
2 cups
=
1 pint or 16 fluid ounces
1 pint
=
2 cups or 16 fluid ounces
1 quart
=
2 pints or 4 cups or 32 fluid ounces
1 gallon
=
4 quarts or 8 pints or 16 cups or 128 fluid ounces
FLOUR
1 cup all-purpose flour
=
5 ounces or 142 grams
1 cup cake flour
=
4 ounces or 113 grams
1 cup whole wheat flour
=
5 1/2 ounces or 156 grams
SUGAR
1 cup granulated white sugar
=
7 ounces or 198 grams
1 cup packed brown sugar
=
7 ounces or 198 grams
1 cup confectioners sugar
=
4 ounces or 113 grams
COCOA POWDER
1 cup cocoa powder
=
3 ounces or 85 grams
BUTTER
4 tablespoons
=
1/2 stick or 1/4 cup or 2 ounces
8 tablespoons
=
1 stick or 1/2 cup or 4 ounces
16 tablespoons
=
2 sticks or 1 cup or 8 ounces
32 tablespoons
=
4 sticks or 2 cups or 1 pound
1/4 teaspoon
=
1.23 milliliters
1/2 teaspoon
=
2.46 milliliters
3/4 teaspoon
=
3.7 milliliters
1 teaspoon
=
4.93 milliliters
1 1/4 teaspoon
=
6.16 milliliters
1 1/2 teaspoon
=
7.39 milliliters
1 3/4 teaspoon
=
8.63 milliliters
2 teaspoon
=
9.86 milliliters
1 tablespoon
=
14.79 milliliters
2 tablespoons
=
29.57 milliliters
1/4 cup
=
59.15 milliliters
1/2 cup
=
118.3 milliliters
1 cup
=
236.59 milliliters
2 cups or 1 pint
=
473.18 milliliters
3 cups
=
709.77 milliliters
4 cups or 1 quart
=
946.36 milliliters
1/4 teaspoon
=
1.23 milliliters
4 quarts or 1 gallon
=
3.785 liters
PAN SIZE
VOLUME
CAN SUBSTITUTE WITH
1 8-inch round cake pan
4 cups
1 8x4-inch loaf pan
1 9-inch round cake pan
1 9-inch pie plate
2 8-inch round cake pans
8 cups
2 8x4-inch loaf pans
1 9-inch tube pan
2 9-inch round cake pans
1 10-inch bundt pan
1 11x7-inch baking dish
1 10-inch springform pan
1 9-inch round cake pan
6 cups
1 8-inch round cake pan
1 8x4-inch loaf pan
1 11x7-inch baking dish
2 9-inch round cake pans
12 cups
2 8x4-inch loaf pans
1 9-inch tube pan
2 8-inch round cake pans
1 10-inch bundt pan
2 11x7-inch baking dish
1 10-inch springform pan
1 10-inch round cake pan
11 cups
2 8-inch round cake pan
1 9-inch tube pan
1 10-inch springform pan
2 10-inch round cake pans
22 cups
5 8-inch round cake pans
3 or 4 9-inch round cake pans
2 10-inch spring form pan
9-inch tube pan
12 cups
2 8-inch round cake pans
2 9-inch round cake pans
1 10-inch bundt pan
10-inch tube pans
16 cups
3 9-inch round cake pans
2 10-inch pie plates
4 8-inch pie plates
2 9x5-inch loaf pans
2 8-inch square baking dishes
2 9-inch square baking dishes
10-inch bundt pan
12 cups
1 9x13-inch baking dish
2 9-inch round cake pans
1 9-inch tube pan
2 11x7-inch baking dishes
1 10-inch springform pan
11x7x2-inch baking dish
6 cups
1 8-inch square baking dish
1 9-inch square baking dish
1 9-inch round cake pan
9x13x2-inch baking dish
15 cups
1 10-inch bundt pan
2 9-inch round cake pans
3 8-inch round cake pans
1 10x15-inch jellyroll pan
10x15x1-inch jellyroll pan
15 cups
1 10-inch bundt pan
2 9-inch round cake pans
2 8-inch round cake pan
1 9x13-inch baking dish
9x5-inch loaf pan
8 cups
1 10-inch pie plate pan
1 8-inch square baking dish
1 9-inch square baking dish
8x4-inch loaf pan
6 cups
1 8-inch round cake pan
1 11x7-inch baking dish
9-inch springform pan
10 cups
1 10-inch round cake pan
1 10-inch spring form pan
2 8-inch round cake pans
2 9-inch round cake pans
10-inch springform pan
12 cups
2 8x4-inch loaf pan
1 9-inch tube pan
2 9-inch round cake pans
1 10-inch bundt pan
2 11x7-inch baking dishes
2 8-inch round cake pans
8-inch square baking dish
8 cups
1 9x5-inch loaf pan
2 8-inch pie plates
9-inch square baking dish
8 cups
1 11x7-inch baking dish
1 9x5-inch loaf pan
2 8-inch pie plate
Water Freezes
32°F
0°C
40°F
4.4°C
50°F
10°C
60°F
15.6°C
70°F
21.1°C
80°F
26.7°C
90°F
32.2°C
100°F
37.8°C
110°F
43.3°C
120°F
48.9°C
130°F
54.4°C
140°F
60°C
150°F
65.6°C
160°F
71.1°C
170°F
76.7°C
180°F
82.2°C
190°F
87.8°C
200°F
93.3°C
Water Boils
212°F
100°C
250°F
121°C
300°F
149°C
350°F
177°C
400°F
205°C
450°F
233°C
500°F
260°C
275°F
=
140°C or Gas Mark 1
300°F
=
150°C or Gas Mark 2
325°F
=
165°C or Gas Mark 3
350°F
=
180°C or Gas Mark 4
375°F
=
190°C or Gas Mark 5
400°F
=
200°C or Gas Mark 6
425°F
=
220°C or Gas Mark 7
450°F
=
230°C or Gas Mark 9
475°F
=
240°C or Gas Mark 10
And for conversions that are not listed I found a great conversion calculator here!
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These look sooooo good! I feel like such a slacker…next time I’ll use fresh artichokes for my recipe.
Spinch + artichoke = gives me purpose. These looks so good – I am slightly intimidated when it comes to work with whole artichokes, I usually wuss out and get the frozen hearts instead. I know, I’m a disgrace.
i got to chow on one of these last night … crazy tasty. mad props to TRS!
Your spinach and artichoke crostini look simply delicious! I can see how they could work instead of a pizza. I agree fresh artichokes do make all the difference.
These look so pretty do you think I could eat it sans the bread entirely (stupid detox) or would that miss the point? I’m thinking just the topping as a dip with corn chips. You see I just can’t stand missing out!;D
Great idea Meg, this gives me an alternative to brushetta and spinach artichoke dip. It is like a combination almost :)
Natalie — of course! We’ve eaten this every way possible and loved them all. Put the dip in an oven proof dish, sprinkle with the mozzarella and put it under the broiler until you get that beautiful brown blistery cheese.
What great pictures. That dip looks fantastic.
The ingredients blend in so well… These look so good that I want to run to the kitchen now…. :))))
Cheers!
They are like little slices of heaven. So good!
This confuses me that you do not cook the artichokes at all before cutting them up. Did that get missed in the directions?
I left them raw, but if you prefer to cook them, add them to the spinach when wilting. In the end it all gets added together anyway.