I’ll be honest, I’m posting this mostly because the toast is so pretty – but also because I think this would make a quick and easy appetizer for a New Year’s Eve party!  I would serve these with a spread along with some smoked salmon toasts, cucumber toasts, and maybe even tomato toasts.  Better yet, make a fun board of toppings, breads, and spreads for your guests to mix and match and create their own fabulous toast creations!

For this toast, I used my current favorite spread, my Festive Cream Cheese with Radish, Dill and Lemon (its less festive but still delicious cousin, Radish and Chive Dip, would also be great!).  Other great options for spreads include normal cream cheese, labneh, Greek yogurt, chevre/goat cheese, sour cream/crème fraiche, or ricotta cheese – all will work, and all will taste good.  This would be a great topper for a bagel spread, a spread with an assortment of sliced breads, or a tray of crackers.  In addition, any radish here will do, but if you are looking for an equally pretty substitute for the watermelon radish, look for some beautiful purple daikon radishes to use instead. All of these options would be really fun, and customizable to the size and vibe of the party (we’re keeping it very small this year here in pandemic times!).

Recipe down below, photo up top!  This is enough to make one toast, which can be cut into fun shapes or served as is for a great little lunch!  Feel free to scale this recipe up for a crowd!

Watermelon Radish Toast

Ingredients:

• 1 watermelon radish, sliced thin
• 1 tbsp cream cheese
• 1 piece of whole wheat or pumpernickel bread, toasted
• 1 pinch flakey (Maldon) salt

Method:

1. Toast the bread using your favorite toasting method of choice (toaster, oven, pan on the stovetop, etc.).
2. Thoroughly wash and dry the watermelon radish to remove any clinging dirt.  Use a knife to remove the very bottom (root end) and top (stem/leaf end).  Set the radish on the larger flat surface created by removing the stem/leaf end, and cut the watermelon radish in half, lengthwise.  Thinly slice each of the halves (crosswise) to create little pink half-moons.
3. Spread the cream cheese on the toast into an even layer and arrange the sliced radishes on top in a pretty pattern.  Sprinkle the top of the toasts with some flakey Maldon salt.
4. Cut into smaller portions for appetizers or enjoy as a full toast for a lunch or snack.