People often ask me about the cheeses I buy at Trader Joe’s, the emporium famous for its bargains. Alas, the list is short. I buy my feta there—the store’s private-label Greek feta is excellent—but I’m rarely tempted by anything else in the cheese department. The crackers, however! I have fallen hard for TJ’s seedy Norwegian crispbread. These crunchy, grainy flatbreads are so good with fresh, spreadable cheeses—whipped feta, for one—and they make it easy to produce a platter of colorful crostini in minutes. Do you have a Persian cucumber in the fridge, or a handful of radishes, or some cherry tomatoes or even half of a roasted beet or some leftover cooked chard? Then let the improv begin. These two-bite crostini complement my preferred aperitivo and I can easily dispatch a half-dozen for lunch.
For the crostini pictured above I used Norwegian Snøfrisk but I often use ricotta, whipped feta or another fresh, rindless cheese. You can find some of my favorite fresh cheeses here. For whipped feta, just put a crumbled block in the food processor and pulse with enough extra virgin olive oil to make it creamy. Use Greek feta or French Valbreso, please; goat or cow feta won’t do.
I rummaged through the fridge and pantry for the toppings: some reheated chard with garlic; roasted golden beets with dukkah; and shaved cucumber with a few shakes of tajín.
Some other options:
Avocado
Roasted peppers
Roasted cherry tomatoes
Green onions
Sliced olives
Onion jam
Prosciutto
Pickled peperoncini
Microgreens
I can hardly wait for fava bean season. A few sauteed fava beans and grated lemon zest on flatbread with fresh cheese will make the most beautiful crostini ever.