Garden Party Toasts

These vibrant garden toasts are a celebration of high summer, colourful, fragrant, and bursting with the flavours of an English kitchen garden.

With two bright toppings to choose from; crushed peas and broad beans with lemon, mint and Old Winchester cheese, or marinated tomatoes with herbs and shallots, this is picnic-style eating at its finest. Both are served on garlicky sourdough, grilled until crisp and golden, then piled high with the freshest summer ingredients.

Perfect for a summer lunch, party platter or alfresco evening with friends, these toasts bring together seasonal simplicity and a little touch of countryside charm.

Ingredients

For the crushed pea toasts

150g garden peas

110g broad beans

90g Old Winchester cheese, or another salty hard cheese, roughly chopped

Zest and juice of ½ a lemon

A drizzle Extra Virgin olive oil

1 small bunch of mint

1 small bunch of chives

A pinch of sea salt

A pinch of freshly ground black pepper

1 clove of garlic

Roughly 4 slices of sourdough bread

A small handful of chive flowers

 

For the tomato toasts

A punnet of mixed sized cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 small bunch of spring onions, finely sliced

1 shallot, finely sliced

3 tablespoons Extra Virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

A big pinch of sea salt

A pinch of freshly ground black pepper

1 small bunch of mint, finely sliced

1 small bunch of chives, finely sliced

1 clove of garlic

Roughly 4 slices of sourdough bread

A few basil leaves, torn

Method

To make the pea toasts.

Place a pan of cold salted water over a high heat and bring to the boil. To the saucepan tip in the broad beans and peas and allow to simmer for around 1 minute. Lift them out with a slatted spoon and plunge them straight into cold water. Drain well and pat dry.

Pod the broad beans, removing the bitter outer skin, leaving you with bright green bean. Tip about 90% of the podded beans and peas into a mixing bowl, leaving a little back to decorate the toasts later.

To the mixing bowl add a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, the zest and juice of half a lemon, a small drizzle of olive oil and the cheese.

Using the back of a fork carefully press the peas and beans, mashing them and mixing them with the other ingredients while still holding onto some of their texture. Once the mixture is well crushed, mix in the fresh herbs.

Drizzle the sourdough bread with a little olive oil and then place on a barbecue or into a griddle pan to carefully toast. Once golden and crisp, rub the clove of garlic over the toast and slice to size.

Pile up the toast with the smashed peas and beans and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Lastly, decorate the toasts with whole peas, beans and herb flowers.

For the tomato toasts.

To a mixing bowl add the tomatoes, spring onions, shallots, olive oil, vinegar and a generous pinch of flaky sea salt. Mix well and leave to marinate for 10-15 minutes, in this time you should begin to see some of the liquid being pulled from the tomato by the salt and vinegar. 

To the mixing bowl and the fresh herbs and stir to combine. 

Drizzle the sourdough bread with a little olive oil and then place on a barbecue or into a griddle pan to carefully toast. Once golden and crisp, rub the clove of garlic over the toast and slice to size.

Pile up the toast with the marinated tomatoes and drizzle with some of the dressing. Lastly, decorate the toasts with a few torn basil leaves.

Serve on a pretty platter with a glass of something fresh and sparkling.