Crostini (”little crusts”) are really handy when you want something small to serve with drinks and they also make a great appetiser. Slice some baguette or foccaccia thinly and grill both sides on a cast-iron grill pan. (Toasting under a conventional grill gives great results but I like the charred edges you only get with the grill pan.) When slightly charred on both sides, rub the toasts with a peeled clove of raw garlic then brush lightly with extra-virgin olive oil. Leave to cool fully before serving or placing any toppings on the crostini.
I served the above crostini with some black olive paste and sun-dried tomatoes. Check out the following crostini topping suggestions, taken from Jamie Oliver’s “Italy“.
As part of my continuing efforts to work my way through every one of Italian Foodie’s recipes (!), I had a go at the rather exotic sounding “Spaghetti Aglio, Olio E Pepperoncino“. This roughly translates as “Spaghetti with garlic, oil and chili“. The recipe is as simple as it sounds - just gently heat some good extra-virgin olive oil, lightly colour the sliced garlic, then add some finely-chopped red chili and fresh flat-leaf parsley. Add some good quality spaghetti to the sauce (as the Italians do) and serve with plenty of grated Parmesan cheese. Very tasty and makes a great change from “red sauce”. Check out Lorraine’s recipe here. Thanks once again Lorraine!
I came across a recipe recently which called for “kosher salt”. I’ve seen it specified in American recipes many times before but never knew what it meant. Kosher salt is simply what Europeans would call “rock salt” or “coarse salt”. Think “Maldon”. The salt itself does not conform to Jewish food laws, but it is used to make meat “kosher”. Kosher law specifies that all blood must be removed from meat before eating and salt is used to draw out the blood. Because the salt is coarse-grained, it does not dissolve as readily and therefore stays on the meat longer. Kosher salt does not usually contain anti-caking agents or other additives.
This is the result of some all too rare experimentation in the kitchen by myself. Not sure about the name yet, it’s a little long-winded. I’ll think of something more snappy later. 
Anyway, this is similar to a Provencale bean stew. It started off as a Piperonata/Ratatouille and some beans and pesto got chucked in. Very pleased with the result. Great accompaniment to steak or grilled chicken.
Ingredients
- 2 medium courgettes
- 3 peppers (a mix of colours would be nice)
- 2 onions, chopped
- 3 cloves, crushed
- 1 carton passata (about 500g)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 can butter beans or borlotti beans
- 1 tbsp pesto (from a jar is fine)
Method
- Fry the onions and garlic in some olive oil until lightly browned.
- Add the roughly chopped vegetables (you want them to retain some bite) and fry hard to get plenty of colour on them.
- Add the carton of passata, a large pinch of oregano, the butter beans and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Bring to the boil and simmer gently until the vegetables are tender.
- Grind some more black pepper and stir the pesto through. That’s it.
Serves 2.
