White Bean and Ramp Crostini by Heather

It's finally starting to feel like spring around NYC, and for Easter, I wanted to make an appetizer that took advantage of some seasonal ingredients.  Brandon and I have had some really good spring-y crostini around the city the past couple of weeks.  Locanda Verde's creamy ricotta crostini is to die for, and Cookshop's ramp salsa verde crostini is also excellent.  This crostini combines the best of both of these.  You'll have a ton of the white bean mixture left over, so it's also great to serve as a dip with some veggies or pita chips.

Ingredients:

For the white bean mixture:

2 cans cannellini beans

1/4 cup greek yogurt

2-3 tbs. basil oil or normal olive oil

1 tsp. chives

1/4 cup parsley

juice and zest of 1 lemon

3 tbs. goat ricotta or regular, whole milk ricotta

salt and pepper to taste

For the ramps:

1 tbs. butter

3-4 tbs. white wine

1 bunch of ramps, cleaned with ends removed

1 loaf bread, sliced

olive oil for drizzling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place sliced bread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Drizzle bread with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place in oven and toast bread until golden brown, about 6-8 minutes.

Heat the butter and white wine in a medium sauté pan until wine is slightly reduced.  Add ramps and sauté until ramps deepen in color, about 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Pulse all of the ingredients for the white bean mixture in a food processor, until well combined and smooth.  Transfer to a bowl.