Mushroom Crostini With Tahini

Mushroom Crostini With Tahini are the perfect little bites for your parties and get-togethers! They are absolutely delicious and super easy to put together. This recipe incorporates some fun ingredients that will make this a fun snack and all the more flavourful. Do read on..

You can add a DIY element to these crostini by serving the toasted bread, the tahini spread, mushrooms and other toppings separately and then asking your guests to assemble their own at the table. 🙂

Delicious Mushroom Crostini is ready!

A Note On The Ingredients Used

The base of the crostini is made using toasted bread. I have used regular brown bread here, though you can use any variety you prefer.

The bread, toasted in a little butter, is slathered with tahini. I have used store-bought Indian-spiced tahini here – do check out the ‘Tips & Tricks’ section of this post for brand details and substitutes.

This is then topped with mushrooms sauteed in olive oil. I prefer using button mushrooms.

The dish is finished off with a drizzle of maple syrup for extra flavour (scroll further down this post for substitutes to this), and a garnish of finely chopped fresh coriander.

How To Make Mushroom Crostini With Tahini

Here’s how to go about it.

Ingredients (makes 14 Crostini):

1. 250 grams button mushrooms

2. 5-6 cloves of garlic

3. 1 tablespoon olive oil

4. Salt to taste

5. Pepper to taste

6. 7 slices of bread

7. Butter, as needed to toast the bread

8. 5-6 tablespoons of spiced tahini or as needed (See the ‘Tips & Tricks’ section for details)

9. Maple syrup as needed to drizzle over the Crostini

10. 2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander

Method:

Top row, left, centre and right: Steps 1, 2 and 3, Centre row, left and centre: Step 4, Centre row, right: Step 5, Bottom row, left and right: Steps 6 and 7

1. Wash the mushrooms under running water and wipe dry with a cotton cloth. Now, chop them up finely and keep ready.

2. Peel the garlic cloves and chop finely. Keep ready.

3. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan, and add in the garlic. Saute on medium flame for a few seconds.

4. At this stage, add in the mushrooms with very little salt. Saute for 3-4 minutes or till the mushrooms are cooked. The mushrooms will let out a lot of water initially, but it will slowly start drying up. You need to cook them till the water has dried out.

5. When the mushrooms are done, taste them and adjust the salt.

6. Add pepper powder as needed. Mix well. The mushroom topping for your crostini is ready.

7. Let the mushroom topping cool down a little.

Left row, top and bottom: Stes 8 and 9, Right row, top, centre and bottom: Steps 10, 11 and 12

8. While the mushrooms are cooling, get the crostini ready. Cut the slices of bread into halves. Spread a little butter on each half, and toast them on both sides on a pan till crisp. Do this on medium flame, ensuring that the bread does not burn. When done, remove the toasted bread slices onto a plate.

9. Spread the spiced tahini on one side of all the bread halves.

10. Then, place generous portions of the mushroom topping on each bread half, over the tahini,

11. Drizzle some maple syrup over the mushrooms.

12. Sprinkle some of the finely chopped coriander over the mushrooms. Your Mushroom Crostini are ready. Serve immediately.

What Is The Difference Between Bruschetta And Crostini?

Bruschetta and Crostini are very similar, but there are subtle differences between the two.

Both Bruschetta and Crostini are Italian appetisers. They refer to small bites of toasted bread, served with assorted toppings before a meal. The traditional way of making bruschetta involves the rubbing of a clove of garlic over a toasted bread slice, which is then drizzled with olive oil and served with tomatoes and cheese. In today’s times, though, there are a lot more versions of bruschetta, served with some rather interesting toppings. Crostini are made with a thinner variety of bread than bruschetta, and can be topped with a spread like pate or pesto.

This Mushroom Crostini With Tahini is a fusion recipe. While the basic idea of the dish is Italian, I have taken the liberty of using tahini with Indian flavours, and then garnishing the crostini with some finely chopped coriander.

Related Event: Shhh Cooking Secretly Challenge

I am sharing this recipe with you all in association with the Shhh Cooking Secretly Challenge.

Shhh Cooking Secretly is a fun challenge run by a group of passionate food bloggers, wherein the members showcase recipes based on a pre-determined theme, on their blogs, every month. The group members exchange ingredients secretly, unknown to the rest of the group. These ingredients are then used to prepare a dish that fits into the theme for the month. Upon completion, each member posts a picture of the finished dish in the group, and the others try to guess the secret ingredients that have been used in them.

For December 2023, the group theme was ‘Party Appetisers’, as suggested by Radha of Magical Ingredients. You must check out the gorgeous Chatpata Paneer Falafel she dished up for the theme!

I was paired with Narmadha of Nams Corner for the theme. She suggested that I use ‘olive oil’ and ‘garlic’ as my secret ingredients, and I chose to make this Mushroom Crostini using them.

Can These Be Made Vegan?

Yes, absolutely!

Use vegan butter to toast the bread instead of a dairy-based version. Alternatively, you could use olive oil.

If you are using a store-bought tahini spread, do check the ingredients on the label and make sure they match your dietary requirements. The same goes for bread – it is, inherently, vegan (plant-based), but do check the ingredients listed on the label to make sure.

Tips & Tricks

1. Button mushrooms work best in this recipe, but you can use any type that you prefer.
2. I have used Hyderabadi Salan Tahini from Pindcart here, which is made with ingredients like peanuts, coconut, jaggery, garlic, vinegar, red chilli and curry leaves, in addition to the usual sesame seeds. It is slightly sweet, spicy and tangy (not sponsored) and worked beautifully as a spread for these crostini. You can use regular tahini instead too – just mix in some sugar/jaggery powder, lemon juice and chilli powder/paprika.
3. Using maple syrup is optional. I prefer using it, though, for the delightful flavour it adds to the Mushroom Crostini. You can use honey instead too, if you don’t intend to make the dish vegan.
4. You can use any type of bread you prefer. Here, I have used regular brown bread.
5. You can add grated cheese to the Mushroom Crostini, too. However, skip the cheese if you want to keep the crostini vegan, or use plant-based cheese instead.

Did you like this recipe? Do tell me, in your comments!