Olive pastecrostini.
Bread, olive paste and a drizzle of oil.
10 min4-6 servings
Prep 10 min · No cook
Tested in Teresa's kitchen
Ingredients
For 4-6 servings
- 12 thin slices of good country breadOr a baguette
- 1 jar of black olive pastePasta di Olive Nere
- Extra virgin olive oil, to finish
- 1 clove garlicOptional
- A few leaves of basil, parsley or thymeTo garnish
Method
5 steps, simply.
Toast the bread
Toast the bread slices — in the oven, under the grill or in a pan — until golden and crisp.
Rub with garlic
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 the olive paste
Spread a good spoonful of Madre Terra black olive paste on each crostino, without smoothing it too much — you want some relief.
Oil and herb
Finish with a drizzle of raw Madre Terra olive oil and a small fresh herb leaf.
Arrange and serve
Arrange on a plate and serve at once, while the bread is still crisp.
The small details that make the difference.
A few pointers before you start.
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 in the fridge and bring it to room temperature before serving, the flavour opens up better.
Good things, to start with.
The best Italian aperitivo is often the one you don't cook. Good toasted bread, a generous olive paste, a thread of oil over the top: you assemble, you set it down, you serve. Ten minutes, no pans, nothing to watch — and yet the effect of a trattoria antipasto. The secret isn't a deft hand: it's in the jar. Everything rides on 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.
La Lettre
The panettoni's arrival, and one recipe a month.
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Gourmethica · Olive paste crostini · gourmethica.ch/en/recettes/crostini-pate-d-olives