If you follow me on Instagram (If you don’t, go take a peek, I’ll wait), you’ve probably seen a few photos of our balcony.

It’s a darling little balcony, dotted with colourful blooming flowers; hydrangeas, begonias, azaleas, lilies and a few other plants I can’t identify.

For years, come every summer, the balcony would lay bare save for the one plant that grew back, which always made me hopeful. I didn’t mind that the balcony was bare when we lived next door to one of the best parks in the world. We didn’t need plants on the balcony, we have a whole forest for our backyard, I used to think to myself.

However, we felt a little differently this summer, longing for a cozy spot just our own, a little refuge of an urban garden from the rest of the world.

From our local garden centre we got advice on the best suitable plants for our shaded north-facing balcony; we came home with flowers and outdoor furniture… and our serene urban retreat was born.

I think I’m more enamoured with how quick and easy it was to create a green oasis in our little city apartment, seamlessly extending our living space; but I do love the balcony too, so much that it’s where we start and end our day.

We spend most of our time home on the balcony now; we have meals, take naps and fill long sunny evenings chatting and watching the daylight fade away.

That first morning we woke up giddy and excited for breakfast out on the balcony; we planned on this pesto croissant sandwich simply because it’s ideal for those lazy weekend mornings when you just want to linger.

This is one of my favourite sandwiches; the combination of apple, pesto and croissant is a little unusual but so very good.
It’s fitting for a summer breakfast, light and satisfying and divine with a pot of good tea.

Again, like the other pesto dish before, the real work is in making the pesto; you’re just putting a sandwich together here – you do have to go and get the croissants though – we could have gotten ours the night before but freshly baked croissants tastes so much better. Or you could try making your own croissants!

We had our sandwich with a side of blueberries and tomatoes in a simple balsamic vinaigrette; it’s another unusual pairing but also so very good and a brilliant way to use up our bounty of summer blueberries and cherry tomatoes.

The pesto was basil and sun-dried tomato pesto, but any kind of pesto would do – the last time we used a herby mix of parsley, cilantro, mint and basil pesto and that worked wonderfully too.

You can’t really go wrong with this sandwich; the crunch of the thinly sliced apple, the nuttiness of the almonds, the zingy pesto and the tart balsamic vinegar make this sandwich shine. And let’s not forget the warm buttery croissant…flavour-packed goodness!

And so that morning we sat out on the lovely balcony, enjoying our breakfast, relishing the gentle breeze and the rays of the morning sun, and it all seemed so perfect.

That moment I knew we’d inadvertently started a fine tradition, one I hoped would continue, because I just know that it was one of the many little things that is going to make this summer awesome!

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Apple and Pesto Croissant Sandwich

INGREDIENTS

• 2 – 4 croissants, sliced in half
• 1/3 – 1/4 cup pesto
• 1 crisp red apple, thinly sliced
• 1 – 2 tablespoons toasted slivered almonds
• 1 tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped
• Balsamic vinegar
• Freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Spread a layer of pesto on both halves of croissant
2. Sprinkle with almonds and rosemary
3. Add apple slices to bottom halves of croissant and press down gently
4. Drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar and a dash of freshly ground pepper
5. Enjoy!

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