Crostino Toscano

History

The crostino toscano is one of the defining flavors of Tuscan cuisine, served as an antipasto at nearly every trattoria and farmhouse table across the region. Chicken livers are sautéed with onion, capers, anchovies and vin santo or white wine, then blended into a smooth, intensely savory pâté and spread generously on thick slices of grilled or toasted unsalted Tuscan bread. The combination of rich liver, briny capers and the slight bitterness of anchovy on the region's characteristic saltless bread (pane sciocco) is quintessentially Tuscan — bold, rustic and deeply satisfying.

Ingredients

• Unsalted Tuscan pane sciocco (saltless bread), thickly sliced
• Chicken livers
• Yellow onion
• Anchovy fillets
• Capers in brine
• Vin santo or dry white wine
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh sage leaves
• Salt and black pepper

How to Make

1. 1Sauté finely chopped onion in olive oil with fresh sage until soft and golden.
2. 2Add cleaned chicken livers and cook over medium-high heat until browned.
3. 3Add anchovies, capers, and a splash of vin santo; cook until the wine evaporates.
4. 4Blend or finely chop the mixture into a rough, spreadable pâté.
5. 5Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
6. 6Toast or grill thick slices of Tuscan bread until golden.
7. 7Spread the warm chicken liver pâté generously onto the grilled bread and serve immediately.

Known for it

• Ristorante Trattoria da BurdeVia Pistoiese, 154, 50145 Firenze FI, Italy