Has been produced in Italy since ancient times, it
was the Etruscans who first developed the aged, hard-rind cheeses which would eventually be known as " Grana ". And since Roman times, the Sicilians were known throughout the Empire for their cheese-making skills. Even Odysseus, when he landed in Sicily and entered the cave of the Cyclops, found it to be filled with delicious goat and ewe cheeses. Italian cheeses came to be highly prized and eventually each region of Italy developed its own special cheeses and cheese-techniques. There are over 500 kinds of cheese made in Italy, many of them unavailable outside the region they are produced in.
Crostini di Verdure: Toast Bread with Fresh Vegetables
Serves: 4 portion
Preparation time: 00:15
Bake Time: 00:45 " Crosta "
means " crust " in Italian.
Crostini are small toasted or fried rounds of bread,
topped with various ingredients that are often served
before meals. Ingredients: Green, stems removed 50 g
Small ripe tomato 1 pc Small garlic clove 1 pc Finely
minced red onion 1 tsp Fine quality extra-virgin olive
oil 2 tsp Balsamic vinegar 1 tsp Salt and freshly ground
pepper to taste Thin rounds of best-quality Italian
bread approx. 5 pc
Preparation: Peel and chop the garlic.
Chop the greens and tomato. Mix the garlic, greens and tomato with
the red onion, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Butter the bread
rounds and rub with garlic clove. Spread the relish on the bread and
bake in the oven at 150 c until lightly browned. Serve warm.
