Tag Archives: caper

Crostini and a weekend in “The Country”

“I’m going to The Country” is the response I often receive when I ask my customers where they’re off to for the weekend. “The Country” I’ve worked out, refers to anywhere within under 2 hour’s drive from London. People who go to “The Country” usually have a house in London too. Gloucestershire, Sussex, Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire come under the “The Country” umbrella. London is referred to as “London”, definitely not “The City” Or “Town”. One can ‘nip’ to “The Country” for a day to have a meeting about changing the drawing room curtains or vice versa to London for lunch with a friend back from the South of France for a couple of days. “The Country” is where one summers away from London at it’s most ghastly.

I suppose I could say I’m in “The Country” now. It seems more natural to me though to say I’m staying in a village near Oxford. HB and I are having a frightfully civilised time (so far!) with a couple of friends.

I thought I’d give you one of my favorite and most easy recipes this week for crostini. As Spring has almost sprung, everyone is in the mood to have a drinks party and these crostini are a fail safe in “The Country”, London and everywhere in between that has a name. They keep for about 2 months in a biscuit tin and make an excellent base for a canapé. Or as an alternative to croutons for soup or salad.

CROSTINI
for about 20 crostini

YOU WILL NEED
1 baguette (stale works better)
Olive oil
Salt

WHAT TO DO

    Preheat the oven to 180C

        Slice the baguette into 5mm slices. Make sure the slices are bite size. If the baguette is quite wide, cut the slices in 1/2
        Lay the slices out on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt
        Bake for about 30 mins until golden and very crisp
        Allow to cool and use straight away topping with any of the below or store for up to a month

      MY FAVOURITE TOPPINGS

        A slick of soft goats cheese or cream cheese topped with some Parma ham, a slice of fresh fig and a drizzle of honey
        Cherry tomatoes chopped small and dressed with some olive oil, seasoning, a bit of torn basil and a teeny bit of minced garlic
        Cream cheese, Parma ham and basil
        Cream cheese with some dill and lemon zest mixed into it, smoked salmon, a caper or 2 and some pepper
        Red onion marmalade and crumbled goats cheese
        Pesto, boccocini and a sun blushed tomato
        Mozzarella, salt and pepper and a few pomegranate seeds sprinkled on top with a drizzle of olive oil and some chopped parsley
        Griddled courgette ribbons with lemon zest, fresh, finely chopped chilli and lemon zest
        Homous topped with a sun blushed tomato or an olive