Cannellini, tomato, and olive crostini

Cannellini, tomato, and olive crostini, a lovely fresh appetizer that delivers from the flavors of the cannellini beans, beautifully sautéed with cocktail tomatoes, a rich bright acidity from the olives, with hints of fresh basil and a wonderful backdrop of paprika. Absolutely scrumptious!

Song of the day: "Hymn for the Weekend" by Coldplay

[This post is sponsored by Ontario Bean Growers. We’ve been compensated but -as always- all opinions are our own.]

Cannellini, tomato, and olive crostini, Mediterranean cuisine at its best!

What we love about Mediterranean cuisine is that it is fresh, healthy, and uses nothing but great seasonal ingredients. This appetizer is no exception to the rule. It is one of the things that I have learnt from Nicoletta, to buy often, let it be fresh, and portions to be just perfect. Nothing like the feeling of eating something and feeling so wonderful after. Today come with us in our kitchen, we are going to show you how to make these Cannellini, tomato, and olive crostini. It will be a favorite, I am sure of it!

Time to gather the ingredients up, this is what you will need:

• Cannellini beans
• Cocktail tomatoes (cherry or grape will do to)
• Shallot
• Peperoncini
• Paprika
• Kalamata olives
• Olive oil
• Fresh basil
• Garlic
• Baguette
• Parsley

Strawberry cocktail tomatoes?

Some of you may not know this variety of tomato, called Strawberry tomatoes, however, it is the most incredibly tasting thing. We found them at our farmers market, they are on the vine, look indeed like strawberries, and have this rich red crimson color and sweet flavor. If you see them, or even ask your local grower, I highly recommend taking these home!

Utensils needed for this Cannellini, tomato, and olive crostini

• Cutting board
• Knife
• Few small bowls
• A sieve
• Wooden spoon
• Spatula
• 2 Sauté pans
• Tablespoon
• Wood board or platter for serving

First things first!

To start, we have to get our topping for this crostini. This is what we do:

• Chop up the cocktail tomatoes and place in a bowl.
• Mince up the shallot, and toss it into a medium sauté pan with some olive oil and chili flakes or what we call peperoncini. Bring to a medium heat. Season with salt and pepper and cook until shallots are softened.
• Time to throw in the cocktail tomatoes, fresh basil, a sprinkle in paprika, and let that simmer for a bit.
• Throw in cannellini beans, and olives that have been halved, and give it a good stir with your wooden spoon. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed, and let that mingle on low heat for a time.
• Turn off heat and set aside.

We now need to do our crostini

•  In another sauté pan drizzle in olive oil. Take baguette slices and coat both sides of the bread by rubbing them in the pan with the oil. Turn heat to a medium to high and toast bread for a few minutes or until they start to turn a nice golden color and crisp up.

A little garlic goes a long way!

Truly, in Italian or Mediterranean cuisine we don't use an over abundance of garlic. More so, if we are using it, we use it whole and take it out when it has done its job. For this Cannellini, tomato, and olive crostini, we halve the garlic and just rub the side that the topping is going on. The Italian version of garlic bread, lol. This gives us a nice subtle hint of garlic and the end result is a beautiful dance of balance and harmony!

Final touches for this Cannellini, tomato, and olive crostini

We are down to the final moments before we get to take a bite out of this fantastic appetizer. This is what is left to do:

• Place all you crostini onto the serving board or platter.
• With a spoon, scoop some bean tomato mixture onto the toasted baguette, or what we call crostini. Hey, don't be shy, mound that lovely topping on.
• Finish with some fresh chopped parsley. Do this with all the crostini, and you will have these Cannellini, tomato, and olive crostini done!

A thing of true beauty!

I firmly believe that we eat with our eyes first, and these Cannellini, tomato, and olive crostini, are not hard on the eyes for sure. The lovely contrast between the redness of the cocktail tomato, cannellini beans, and those dark olives, is really enticing. I always have to have some freshness and the green of the parsley does the trick!

I am truly in bliss as the aromas of this appetizer has my stomach growling! There is nothing like the aroma of cooked tomatoes with that backdrop of basil. I can even slightly pick up on the paprika and how pleasant is that. I really need to have a taste now, and I think Nicoletta is feeling the same way, as I see her pick one up!

Flavor is in the hands of the beholder!

Being the true gentlemen that I am, I am going to let Nicoletta handle the tasting. I watch as she bites in and the first thing is how her eyes are closing and that look that this crostini is jut out of this world good. Nicoletta says that the tomatoes are so sweet and rich, and play wonderfully with the starchy sweetness of the cannellini beans. She also tastes the backdrop of the basil, and that slight sweet smokiness coming from the paprika which really boosts the flavor happening here.

My bite reveals that lovely crispness of the baguette perfectly flavors with that subtle garlic backdrop. A perfect foundation to all that is happening in this Cannellini, tomato, and olive crostini

Nicoletta and I made this lovely recipe together and it was so much fun. It is wonderful to work side by side to create such amazing dishes that I know are infused with the love that we have for what we do, what we use, and how we put it together. Thanks for joining us in our kitchen, see you next time! If you are craving more delicious appetizers try our Simple eggplant bruschetta bites, Panko and Asiago Crusted Popcorn Cauliflower, or Deep fried squash blossoms and sage leaves.

Cheers!

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