WEEK 52 WILDCARD WINNER

Grilled Bread with Thyme Pesto and
Preserved Lemon Cream

Photography by Sarah Shatz

    BY FIVEANDSPICE | MAKES 6 SLICES

A&M: Fiveandspice described the first time she made this dish: “I found myself staring down at my bread and saying, ‘Where have you been all my life?’” We felt the same. We love it’s rusticity and its ability to inspire endless adaptations: you can use a different herb for the pesto, dab with ricotta instead of lemon cream, or, as fiveandspice suggested, top with a fried egg. Grilled bread is so much better than toasted, and the heady perfume of the thyme pesto seduces you before you can even get the toast to your mouth. The preserved lemon cream acts as the calm yet bewitching sidekick.

    2 cups baby spinach, cleaned and torn into small pieces

    ½ cup fresh thyme leaves (stems removed)

    ½ cup toasted pine nuts

    3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

    ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan

    ½ teaspoon salt

    ½ cup olive oil, plus more for brushing

    ½ cup crème fraîche

    2 teaspoons minced preserved lemon

    6 thick slices good Italian country bread

1. In a food processor, combine the spinach, thyme, pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan, and salt. Process until the ingredients are roughly chopped. With the processor running, gradually drizzle in the olive oil until you have a chunky pesto. Set aside. (This will make more pesto than needed; the rest can be kept refrigerated for about a week and used to accompany other dishes, such as pasta, chicken, and fish.)
2. In a small bowl, combine the crème fraîche and preserved lemon. Allow to stand in the refrigerator for about ½ hour for the flavors to combine.
3. Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high. Lightly brush each slice of bread with olive oil on both sides. Grill the slices for a minute or two per side, until they are crusty and have charred grill marks but are still soft in the middle.
4. Spread each slice of bread with a layer of pesto and top with a generous smear of the preserved lemon cream. Enjoy!

Photography by Sarah Shatz

    TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

    Fiveandspice: “You can top the bread and spreads off with slices of grilled chicken or a runny fried egg and grilled asparagus, and your life will never be the same.”

        Unless you have many people to feed—and to help you strip the thyme leaves from their stems—we recommend halving the pesto recipe.

    ABOUT THE COOK

    Emily Kuross Vikre is a graduate student in Boston, Massachusetts.

        Her favorite recipe from a cookbook: “I’m fairly obsessed with the recipe for Herb Jam from Paula Wolfert’s Slow Mediterranean Kitchen.”

        Her top cooking/entertaining tip: “Set the table before guests arrive, and you’ll look like you’ve got it together, no matter when the food actually winds up being ready. And there’s almost no cooking disaster so bad that it can’t be fixed by throwing it away and serving eggs and toast instead.”

    WHAT THE COMMUNITY SAID

    cheese1227: “This is lovely! It’s in my saved recipe files, and I’ll have it on the menu all summer long!”