Appetizer

Name: Creamy langostino salad bruschetta
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup thawed and drained langostino tails, about 36 pieces; 2 tbsp. mayonnaise; 1 tbsp. chives, fresh or dried; 1 1/2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice; salt and pepper, to taste; 3 tomatoes, Campari or Roma; 1/4 baguette, sliced and toasted (see recipe); 1 tbsp. olive oil (for bread); 1/3 avocado, thinly sliced; 1/4 cup assorted microgreens, optional but recommended

Creamy langostino salad bruschetta

January 25, 2022

Home » Appetizer

Creamy langostino salad, ripe tomatoes, and avocado top toasted crostini for an easy, elegant appetizer. Langostino bruschetta is perfect for special occasions like Valentine’s Day, but it is quick and simple enough for any night.

To make it easier for seafood lovers to find all of my langostino recipes, I’ve put them in one place for your perusal.

Langostino salad on crostini on wooden board.

Any kind of topping piled on toasted bread, I’m in. I love bruschetta. From regular tomato bruschetta to an apple chutney bruschetta, if it involves crostini, sign me up.

It’s quick, easy and always a hit. Everyone loves tasty toppings piled on slices of crunchy, toasted baguette.

If you make a purchase through one of the affiliate links, I make a few pennies at no extra cost to you. Questions? Please see disclosure for info.

Langostino bruschetta

Back when I worked in fine dining restaurants, we made various seafood amuse bouche for Valentine’s Day. Everyone loved them, including the kitchen staff.

Langostino salad bruschetta with microgreens.

I wanted to make something equally delicious, but much less fussy. This easy appetizer has just a handful of ingredients and takes hardly any time at all to make.

Ingredients for langostino salad

Keep this langostino salad simple with just a few ingredients. By keeping it simple, the flavor of the langostinos really shines through.

Crostini – Thinly sliced baguette, drizzled with olive oil and sea salt, then toasted in the oven.
Tomatoes – I like Campari tomatoes for this, they are they perfect size for the bread and they have a great flavor.
Chives – Use fresh or dried.
Mayonnaise – You can swap for full-fat Greek yogurt, if you don’t like mayo.
Microgreens (optional, but nice) – Not only are they pretty, they often have a higher nutritional content than their full-grown vegetable counterparts.
Langostinos – Sold peeled, cooked and frozen, langostino tails are super speedy to prepare.
Lemon – Fresh lemon juice brighten the langostino salad up and cuts the fat from the mayo. I used a Meyer lemon.
Avocado – Creamy and delicious, it goes perfectly with this bruschetta.

How to make langostino salad

First, gather your ingredients. Slice and toast the bread, then set it aside to cool.

I use my Wusthof wavy-edge slicer for both the baguette and the tomatoes. You won’t find a better serrated blade.

Next, combine the thawed langostino tails with mayo, chives, lemon juice, salt and pepper. We’re keeping it simple, but if you want to jazz it up a little more, use the filling from my langostino lobster roll recipe.

Mixing up bruschetta topping in stainless steel bowl.

Gently mix it up until all of the langostino tails are coated with the lemony mayo mixture.

Thinly slice the tomatoes and place one slice on top of a piece of toasted baguette. Finally, put a spoonful of langostino salad on top of the tomato and top it with a few thin slices of avocado.

When choosing a baguette, try to pick a fairly thin one. Look for one that is roughly the same size as the tomatoes you are using. It makes for a better bite, and a better presentation, if they are uniform in size.

Langostino bruschetta on appetizer plates.

I like to top these appetizers with a little pinch of microgreens for extra color and flavor. Microgreens are seedlings of vegetables or herbs, They may seem a bit fussy, but they aren’t. They often have a slightly stronger flavor than their full grown versions as well, so keep that in mind when choosing.

You can grow your own in a couple of weeks, but they are available almost everywhere.

Another option would be to use this as a filling for a lobster roll or po’boy type of sandwich.

This special appetizer is perfect for a special occasion at home, like Valentine’s Day, a birthday or an anniversary.

I have a few go-to recipes for special date nights at home. First, I like to start off with a hibiscus champagne cocktail. It’s easy and delicious, plus it’s pretty. I’d serve this langostino bruschetta with the cocktail, and mushroom and feta-stuffed phyllo.

For dinner, I’d cook something like a beef tenderloin, because it looks impressive, but it’s actually really easy.

Dessert has lots of options, but it has to be chocolate. My picks would be a dark chocolate cake with red wine ganache or chocolate coconut truffles.

Langostino appetizers

Looking for more ways to use this tasty seafood?

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Yield: 1 dozen

Creamy langostino salad bruschetta

Creamy langostino salad on toasted crostini for a delicious and simple appetizer.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup thawed and drained langostino tails, about 36 pieces
2 tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tbsp. chives, fresh or dried
1 1/2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste
3 tomatoes, Campari or Roma
1/4 baguette, sliced and toasted (see recipe)
1 tbsp. olive oil (for bread)
1/3 avocado, thinly sliced
1/4 cup assorted microgreens, optional but recommended

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place sliced baguette on baking sheet, brush or spray slices with olive oil and sprinkle with 1 tsp salt. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until lightly browned and crisp.
Combine langostino tails, mayo, chives, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
Gently mix with a spoon until langostino tails are thoroughly coated.
Slice tomatoes and place one slice on each piece of crostini.
Place a spoonful of langostino salad on bread, then place a few slices of avocado on top.
Finish with a pinch of microgreens and serve.

Notes

Langostino salad can be made 1 day ahead. Store leftover salad in an airtight container for up to 2 days. (I don't keep seafood in the fridge for very long)

Air fryer butternut squash risotto cakes

August 20, 2021

Home » Appetizer

Butternut squash risotto cakes are the perfect fall appetizer. Leftover, cold risotto is formed into little patties that are breaded and then made crispy in the air fryer.

Butternut squash risotto cakes on dark gray plate with sage and parmesan cheese.

This is also a great make-ahead recipe for the holidays! You can put them in the air fryer at the last minute and serve them warm and crispy. These risotto cakes can also be reheated in a hot oven (or air fryer) to crisp back up again if needed.

If you make a purchase through one of the affiliate links, I make a few pennies at no extra cost to you. Questions? Please see disclosure for info.

Butternut squash risotto cakes

This air fryer butternut squash recipe is great as a tasty side or as an appetizer. You can make them as big or as small as you like.

Butternut squash arancini split open, showing the inside, on gray plate.

I chose to make them a two-bite appetizer size. You can see the pieces of butternut squash and sage leaves inside this tasty morsel.

It makes for a really delicious snack or side dish, and because I can make these ahead of time, I think it will be included in my autumn holiday menu.

Air fryer risotto cakes with butternut squash

I was gifted this air fryer from my friends. If you don’t own one, you can still make these by deep-frying them.

Carefully drop the breaded risotto cakes into hot oil (about 350°F) and fry for 3 – 4 minutes until browned all over. You could also pan fry them in an inch of oil, turning them over and frying until browned.

Butternut risotto balls with fresh sage on gray plate, with tongs on the side.

Depending on the type of air fryer that you own, make sure that you cook them in batches if necessary. Don’t overcrowd the basket or tray, as air needs to circulate around them.

Procedure

The first step is to make the butternut squash risotto. It MUST be cold when making the risotto cakes, otherwise they will fall apart.

I like to make it the day before and let it chill overnight in the fridge. If you prefer to make it the same day, cook the risotto in the morning. This will give it enough time for the initial chill and also the second one, once they’ve been breaded.

This is a standard breading procedure (SBP). Coating the risotto cakes in flour, egg and breadcrumb will ensure a very crunchy exterior.

Using a 1 ounce cookie scoop, portion the cold risotto into balls. Then lightly flatten each one into a disk and dip into the flour, then egg and lastly, breadcrumb.

As you can see in the last photo, they are golden brown and crunchy!

Butternut squash risotto

As always, having everything ready to go (or your mis-en-place) will make things go more smoothly, so measure your ingredients before you start the rice.

The first step is sautéing shallots in butter. Then you add the unrinsed rice to the pot and give it a stir. Next, the wine goes into the pot. Then, adding stock little by little as the rice absorbs it and stirring for a bit.

One piece of equipment that I recommend is a heavy-bottomed pot, like a Dutch oven. I have a Le Creuset Dutch oven that I adore.

Helpful tips and tricks for making crunchy arancini

Use a bit of cooking spray to coat the risotto cakes – this will help them brown in the air fryer. I cannot stress enough the importance of starting with cold rice. Please make sure it is chilled before you begin.

I let the balls of risotto chill again after forming them and once again after breading. It might be overkill, but I’ve never had one break apart on me.

Butternut squash risotto cakes on gray plate with sage leaves and grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top.

After rolling the butternut squash risotto into balls, you can leave them round (I did half round and half flattened).

Risotto balls, called arancini, are breaded and fried the same way. Either option will taste the same, the only difference is the shape.

After breading, let the risotto cakes rest for at least 5 minutes. This helps the breading dry out a little and adhere to the outside of the cakes, ensuring that it will not fall off when you bite into them.

Crunchy air fryer risotto cakes on sheet pan.

Flipping them over for a few minutes at the end of cooking helps to brown them all over, I highly suggest doing this.

Serving suggestion – serve these butternut squash risotto cakes with fresh cranberry chutney. It goes really well together and makes an excellent autumn nibble.

More butternut squash recipes

Butternut squash is one of our favorite fall vegetables. It is so versatile and delicious – here are a handful of different ways to use this veggie.

Please share

If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars!

I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! Please consider rating and/or commenting.

Your shares help this site to grow and I appreciate it so much. Do you know someone who would like this? I’d love it if you would share it on Facebook or pin it to your favorite recipe board.

Yield: 20 risotto cakes