Crostini

Italian bread cut diagonally, drizzled with olive oil, covered with tomato and green olives, seasoned with salt and pepper, topped with mozzarella cheese and baked a few minutes to warm everything up. Great appetizer any time of the year, for any occasion.

Ingredients -

12 slices Italian Bread, bias cut to 1/2 inch thick
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 large Vine-Ripened Tomato, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped Ripe Green Olives
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
12 slices (1 ounce each) Mozzarella Cheese

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. Place bread on non-stick baking sheet.

3. Drizzle olive oil over each slice of bread.

4. Combine tomato, green olives, salt, and fresh ground black pepper.

5. Split tomato mixture into two equal portions.

6. Spread one portion tomato mixture on bread slices. Top with cheese.

7. Spread remaining tomato mixture on cheese.

8. Bake 8 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Variations and Recipe Ideas:

Appetizer Tips -

Green Olives

Green olives are picked while they are still immature. The unripe olive is cured to remove bitterness before being packaged for purchase.

Appetizer Tips -

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The finest olive oil, extra-virgin is low in acidity and high in flavor. Olive oil varies greatly in quality and price. Cold pressed olive oils are superior in quality and worth the extra cost. Extra-virgin olive oil is preferred in uncooked dishes such as salads and vinaigrettes where the flavor will not be altered by heat.