Olive Oil Toasts Recipes

OLIVE-OIL TOASTS WITH GREENS, PINE NUTS, AND RAISINS

Steps:

• For the toasts:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush 1 tablespoon oil evenly on a large rimmed baking sheet. Arrange bread slices on top; brush them with remaining tablespoon oil and season with salt. Place baking sheet in oven and toast for 6 minutes. Rotate the pan front to back and bake the toasts until golden brown all over with no pale patches, a few minutes more. (The toasts will probably not all be done at the same time, so remove the ones that are, and keep toasting). Remove toasts from the baking sheet to a separate container and let cool to room temperature.
• For the topping:
• To wash the chard leaves, throw them into a big bowl of water and swish around with conviction to get rid of any dirt. Lift out the greens (don't pour them out or the dirt will just go right back on), and transfer to a colander to drain. Don't spin the greens dry-it's good to have some water clinging to the leaves to help them steamily cook.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add 2 tablespoons oil. Add the onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until very tender and just slightly colored, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and red-pepper flakes and stir until the garlic is fragrant, but not browned, about 2 minutes.
• Add the chard leaves with 1/2 teaspoon salt and let them begin to wilt. Toss and flip with tongs, adding salt, oil, or water as needed so the garlic does not burn, until chard is tender but not mushy, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Stir in the pine nuts and raisins and then spoon the mixture onto a cutting board to cool for a couple of minutes. Chop the chard, then scoop into a medium bowl and mix in the cheese and the remaining tablespoon of oil. Top toasts with chard mixture and serve warm or at room temperature.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE WITH SEA SALT, OLIVE OIL & TOASTS

Steps:

• Heat the cream in a heavy-bottomed pan until it is warm but not boiling (you don't want to overheat the chocolate, so be careful not to overdo it). Take the pan off the heat, then add the chocolate to the pan with the cream and leave to melt for a while, then beat with a wooden spoon. At first it looks like it won't go smooth, but it will. Leave to cool and set. You can also chill it, but take it out of the fridge before serving so that it isn't too firm or 'fridge cold'.
• Cut the bread into fine slices and toast on each side (the best way is under the grill, but watch it like a hawk). Serve the ganache in glasses in small scoops. Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Brush the toast with more olive oil and serve with the ganache.

OLIVE-OIL TOASTS

Steps:

• Fill a large heavy skillet with about 1/2 inch of oil. Heat over medium until a breadcrumb sizzles when you drop it in. Working in batches, fry slices of bread, flipping once, until golden brown and crisp on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes a side. Transfer to paper towels to drain, then season with flaky sea salt.

DECADENT MEDITERRANEAN HONEYED OLIVE OIL TOASTS

Steps:

• Mix the dry spices together in a small dish.
• Cut the bread into 4 pieces as if you were making two 6" sandwiches.
• Measure out the olive oil into another small dish-- with a pastry or BBQ brush, brush all the olive oil onto the pieces of bread right side up (about 1 tablespoon for each slice.).
• Squoosh some honey generously onto each piece of bread in a horizontal line, roughly 1 teaspoon. Use the BBQ brush to spread and mix the honey into the breads.
• With your thumb and forefingers, pinch the spice mix and spread onto all the pieces of bread.
• Put the breads on a cookie sheet and toast for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown on top-- I use my toaster/convection oven.