Olive paste crostini — the Italian aperitivo in five minutes
Serves 4-6 (about 12 crostini) · Prep 10 min · No cook
There's a way to open a meal that has never changed in Italy: good bread, a generous olive paste, a thread of oil poured over the top. That's all. No cooking, no recipe to speak of — a five-minute assembly while the glasses are filled. And it's precisely because there's so little to do that everything rides on a single ingredient: the olive paste.
Our Madre Terra Pasta di Olive Nere is made the way you'd want it — real black olives, little around them, the clear, lightly salty taste of the fruit. Spread on still-warm toasted bread, finished with a drizzle of raw Madre Terra olive oil, it's enough to turn a rushed aperitivo into a trattoria moment. It's the simplest antipasto there is, and one of the most Italian — the one you serve without thinking and everyone goes back to.
Ingredients
- 12 thin slices of good country bread (or a baguette)
- 1 jar of Madre Terra black olive paste (Pasta di Olive Nere)
- Madre Terra extra virgin olive oil, to finish
- 1 garlic clove (optional)
- A few small leaves of basil, parsley or thyme, to garnish
Method
- Toast the bread slices — in the oven, under the grill or in a pan — until golden and crisp.
- While they're still warm, rub them lightly, if you like, with a halved garlic clove. One pass is enough: it's a scent, not a seasoning.
- Spread a good spoonful of Madre Terra black olive paste on each crostino, without smoothing it too much — you want some relief.
- Finish with a drizzle of raw Madre Terra olive oil and a small fresh herb leaf.
- Arrange on a plate and serve at once, while the bread is still crisp.
The move that changes everything: serve the crostini at the last minute, not in advance. Bread topped too early goes soft and loses all its point — toast the bread when the guests arrive, top it just before you set the plate down. The contrast between the warm crisp and the olive paste is the whole pleasure. Three variations to try: a little grated orange zest over the paste for a lively note, a shaving of pecorino for fat and salt, or the green olive and almond paste in place of the black — milder, rounder.
More: a good Italian aperitivo comes down to a few well-chosen things — a generous olive paste, an honest oil, good bread.
Discover the Madre Terra Pasta di Olive NereFrequently asked
Which olive paste should I choose?
One made with real olives and little else around them — that's the whole dish. The olive paste is the ingredient here, not a condiment: if it's good, the crostini are unforgettable. Our Madre Terra Pasta di Olive Nere is dosed for it, clear and lightly salty like the fruit.
Which bread for crostini?
A good country bread or a baguette, thinly sliced and well toasted. The warm crisp makes half the dish — soft bread will never give a real crostino. Rub it with garlic if you like, but with a light hand.
Can I make them ahead?
Toast the bread a little ahead, yes; top it only at the last minute. The olive paste, on the other hand, waits with no trouble — keep the jar cool and bring it to room temperature before serving, the flavour opens up better.