Crostini with Garlic-Marinated Boquerones, Arugula, & Fresh Tomato
This recipe works wonderfully as an easy salad course to serve at a dinner party or at home with family. The recipe below is intended to make 8 crostini topped with salad.
Ingredients
- 3 Roma tomatoes, or nice fresh tomatoes
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 8 Tbsp salted butter, softened
- 8 slices of bread, cut from a rustic, country-style loaf
- 4 cups fresh Arugula lettuce, washed and dried
- 2-3 Tbsp decent-quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 Tbsp sherry vinegar
- Kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole, for rubbing into the toasted bread
- 16 garlic-marinated boquerones
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 390F.
- Cut the Roma tomatoes into small, bite-sized chunks and place them in a nonreactive bowl.
- Season the tomatoes with some kosher salt, and allow them to sit for roughly 15 minutes while you prepare your remaining ingredients.
- Butter each side of your country-style slices of bread, and place them on parchment paper on a sheet tray.
- Toast the bread in the oven at 390F, turning the bread after five minutes.
- Toast the bread until it is gently crispy on both sides.
- When the bread is lightly toasted, remove from the oven and run each side lightly with the raw whole cloves of garlic.
- Lightly dress the Arugula greens in a bowl with the extra virgin olive oil, sherry vinegar, kosher salt, and freshly-ground black pepper.
- Taste the dressed salad greens.
- Add more olive oil, vinegar, salt, or pepper, if desired.
- Drain the excess liquid from the bowl of tomatoes.
- Serve arugula greens on top of each piece of toasted bread.
- Top each bed of arugula lettuce on each piece of bread with the drained tomatoes.
- Top each slice of bread with 2 boquerones.
- Drizzle with a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil, and serve immediately.
Notes
These are best assembled and eaten right away, right after the bread comes out of the oven and is still warm.
Boquerones, or vinegar-cured anchovies, are incredible. They can be difficult to find in the U.S., and are much less salty than traditional anchovies. Sometimes, they are stored in a marinade that includes finely-sliced garlic cloves.
You can marinate your own boquerones at home by heating a few cloves of garlic in a small quantity of olive oil. Cool down the oil, and pour over the boquerones and allow them to sit for an hour or two. The garlic oil would also be great to use with a salad dressing.
Boquerones, or vinegar-cured anchovies, are incredible. They can be difficult to find in the U.S., and are much less salty than traditional anchovies. Sometimes, they are stored in a marinade that includes finely-sliced garlic cloves.
You can marinate your own boquerones at home by heating a few cloves of garlic in a small quantity of olive oil. Cool down the oil, and pour over the boquerones and allow them to sit for an hour or two. The garlic oil would also be great to use with a salad dressing.