Recipes from Laura

Antipasti Toscani

There is nothing better than starting off an evening with a selection of simple, tasty Tuscan bites and a glass of vino. A few weeks ago Laura shared the recipes for a few of her favorite antipasti in one of our FB Live Cooking Demos:

• Crostone with salsiccia and stracchino cheese (a toasted piece of Tuscan bread topped with pork sausage and stracchino cheese)
• Bruschetta with fresh tomatoes
• Crostino (a smaller, more bite-sized version of a "crostone") with fresh fava beans and Pecorino cheese 

The common thread between the three is the beautiful simplicity in their preparation. There is no long list of ingredients and minimal time required to prepare. These are perfect starters to a Tuscan-themed dinner or ideal for a simple lunch or even a light dinner served along with a salad.
 
You can watch the Live Demo on our Facebook page. 

SEE LIVE COOKING DEMO

CROSTONE with Salsiccia & Stracchino (serves 6)
Ingredients

6 medium Italian sausages (mild, not sweet or spicy)
300 G stracchino cheese 
1 loaf Tuscan-style peasant bread 

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C (350-400° Fahrenheit).
2. Remove the casing from the sausages and mix the sausage together with the stracchino cheese.
3. Cut the bread into even slices (roughly 1/2 inch thick) and then slice each in half.
4. Spread a good amount of the sausage and stracchino mixture on each slice.
5. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 200 °C for 15-20 minutes. Serve warm.

BRUSCHETTA (serves 6) 
Ingredients
6 Roma or 15 cherry tomatoes  
3 small garlic cloves  
Fresh basil leaves 
Extra virgin olive oil 
Salt and cracked black pepper to taste   
1 loaf Tuscan-style peasant bread 

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C (400° Fahrenheit).
2. Wash the tomatoes and chop into small pieces and remove the seeds if they are large and if desired.
3. Crush the garlic cloves and remove the skins.
4. Wash the basil thoroughly, let dry and cut into small pieces.
5. Mix the tomatoes, basil and olive oil together. Then add salt and pepper to taste. If you have time, let this mixture sit for a few hours for the ingredients and flavors to amalgamate better.
6. Cut the bread into even slices (not too thick) and toast in the oven.
7. Wet the toasted bread with the juice from the tomato mixture.
8. Top each toasted slice of bread with the tomatoes and drizzle extra-virgin olive oil on top, as much as desired!

CROSTINO with Fava & Pecorino (serves 6)
Ingredients
15 large fava bean pods  
Fresh (young) Pecorino cheese (1 medium piece)
Extra virgin olive oil 
Salt and pepper to taste   
1 baguette 

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
2. Remove the favas from the pods and cut into small pieces.
3. Remove the rind and chop the pecorino cheese into small pieces.
4. Mix the favas and the pecorino together.
5. Add fresh pepper and salt as desired, and a little bit of olive oil to hold the mixture together.
6. Cut a baguette into small round slices and then toast in the oven.
7. Spread the fava and pecorino mixture on the slices of toasted bread and place one whole fresh fava bean on top for presentation.  

BUON APPETITO!