Post a great night of wininng and dining in Georgetown D.C, calls for a lighter fare the next morning.
With my slightly hungover, my-head-is-stuffed-with-cotton-wool-and-everything-is- slightly-fuzzy state, this is not a morning to be thinking up some big elaborate affair in terms of food.
No indeed.
This was more a small bites with a little bit of grease kind of day.
So it should come as no surprise that crostinis answer the call.
And not some long winded kind of crostini but a rather, 5 ingredients, assembled rather hastily in 3 minutes, stuck in the oven and there!
Not to mention the need for it to be delicious. Because if it isn't well, then it just isn't worth it. And and because this is IT for lunch, it had better be!
Crispy curled up pancetta sliced over crispy rustic bread, drizzled with aged balsamico and lightened with fresh slivers of basil?
Fast food - check.
Delicious - check.
Slowly emerging from the haze - check.
Gather the ingredients,
8 slices Italian pane bread, 8 slices pancetta, 3-4 cloves peeled garlic, 4 tsp min. 12 year aged Balsamico, 1-2 basil leaves, optional
Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
Place the sliced bread in a single layer and grill for approx 10 minutes until the bread is crispy firm and brown around the edges.
Remove from the oven and as fast as you can, rub the garlic cloves into the bread. The garlic will melt into the bread as you rub it in.
Place 1-2 (depending on the number of slices of Pancetta) on each slice of bread.
Turn the oven temperature up to broil.
Return the baking tray into the oven and broil for 5-7 minutes until the pancetta slices have curled and are sizzling.
Remove from the oven and drizzle 1/2 tsp balsamico on each crostini.
With kitchen shears, cut very thin slivers of the basil leaves evenly among the crostini (if desired) and serve immediately on a platter.
Recipe for
Pancetta Crostini with Balsamico Drizzle
Preparation time – 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves 4: Appetizer size
Shopping list
8 slices Italian pane bread
8-16 thinly sliced pancetta
3-4 cloves peeled garlic
4 tsp min. 12 year aged Balsamico
1-2 basil leaves
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
Place the sliced bread in a single layer and grill for approx 10 minutes until the bread is crispy firm and brown around the edges.
Remove from the oven and as fast as you can, rub the garlic cloves into the bread. The garlic will melt into the bread as you rub it in.
Place 1-2 (depending on the number of slices of Pancetta) on each slice of bread.
Turn the oven temperature up to broil.
Return the baking tray into the oven and broil for 5-7 minutes until the pancetta slices have curled and are sizzling.
Remove from the oven and drizzle 1/2 tsp balsamico on each crostini.
With kitchen shears, cut very thin slivers of the basil leaves (if desired) evenly among the crostini and serve immediately on a platter.
Enjoy!