These are great to serve at even intimate family gatherings for the holidays or whenever! In Italy they serve snacks for Aperitivo Hour (Happy Hour) and in general when alcohol is served. In Venice, they have these little wine bars called Bacari, where you stand up to the bar and get a glass of vino and Cicchetti (or small snack) for like 5 Euro, which is a common pastime in Venice. One of my favorite memories was the first time I was there with my Zia(aunt) Mary, Cugino(cousin) Christian and his Marito(husband) Stephen. It was our only day to site-see, and just as we crossed over the Rialto bridge it started to pour down rain! So, we took cover in the nearest Bacari, had some wine and some delicious Cicchetti! Then, because we’re us, we ended up going from Bacari to Bacari tasting all the wine and Cicchetti our tummies could handle! We had SO much fun! In Venice, most of the snacks have fish because, well, it’s on a lagoon! I had this amazing mushroom paté like spread on some crostini, that I’ll never forget! I had to recreate the recipe from memory. I’ve also included my bruschetta recipe here, and another fun crostini idea of brie and pear! All of these are vegetarian and a perfect mix to serve as appetizers, or a fun Cicchetti for your next hosted Aperitivo Hour! Gustare!
Crostini
I usually just buy a French baguette, slice it up and toast all the pieces at once because it’s quick an easy. To make it more flavorful you can brush with olive oil and rub a clove of garlic on them! So good!
Mushroom paté/pesto
(It’s more of a pesto, but it looks like a paté.)
1 medium shallot
1 package baby bella mushrooms (cleaned and ends cut off, roughly chopped)
*Note you can add another package to double the recipe, but you don’t need to double anything else.
¼ C pine nuts
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2-3 medium sized sage leaves
¼ C olive oil divided in half (for half of this I use the Wild Mushroom and Sage oil from The Olive Scene https://theolivescene.com/shop-olive-oils/wild-mushroom-infused-olive-oil
Roughly chop the herbs and add to olive oil in a saute pan. Add the chopped shallots and let that hangout for a bit, until the shallots are translucent. Then add the mushrooms and stir. Generously salt and pepper to taste. Once the mushrooms are cooked down, turn off the heat and strain out the excess liquid. (I save the liquid and use for a sauce or base for soup.) Add the mixture to a food processor and add the pine nuts. Once you turn on the processor pour in the remaining olive oil, and eyeball it. If it needs more to loosen it up, add a little more! You want it to have a thick consistency though, not oily. Salt and pepper again to taste! It will look a little brown/grey in color, which I realize isn't the most appetizing, but it IS yummy! You can also shave some Parmigiano Reggiano on top for extra flavor and to hide the color.
Bruschetta (pronounced broo-ske’-ta)
1 handful of fresh basil freshly chopped (a whole container from the store)
3 medium tomatoes (heirloom if in season, or whatever has the best flavor)
1 clove garlic minced
Really good EVOO!
Chop everything up really finally and add to the bowl about an hour or so before serving, add the olive oil, and generously salt. Let sit for the flavors to marry together at least an hour before serving.
Brie/Pear Crostini
This is SO easy!
1-2 pears sliced thinly (squeeze with lemon juice so they don’t turn color
1 block of brie, also sliced thinly
Balsamic Vinegar (preferably aged, or a glaze would work too)
Place a slice of brie on each of the crostini, toast in oven just until slightly melted. Place a thin slice of pear on each, and then drizzle all with the aged balsamic. That’s it, but the flavors are amazing!
Comentários