Crostini with Salted European-Style Butter, Smoked Sardines, and Pepper Cress
Updated February 23, 2016 
Cookbook
A Twist of the Wrist: Quick Flavorful Meals with Ingredients from Jars, Cans, Bags, and Boxes
Published by Knopf
In the midst of trying a bunch of Spanish products for this book, I tasted canned sardines for the first time. I liked them so much I knew I had to think of a way to include them in the book. I tried to think of what Gabrielle Hamilton would do with them. They just seemed like something she would use. So this recipe is dedicated to Gabrielle. I hope she approves. Since butter is a central ingredient in these crostini, I call for a high-fat butter, such as domestic Plugrà or any high-quality European variety. I use regular supermarket varieties of smoked sardines, but I do try to find sardines that say “lightly smoked” so the smoky flavor doesn’t overwhelm the flavor of the fish.
Serves4
Cooking Time20 min
Cooking Time - Text20
Cooking Methodbaking
CostModerate
Total Timeunder 30 minutes
One Pot MealYes
OccasionCocktail Party
Recipe Courseappetizer
Mealdinner, lunch
Taste and Texturebuttery, salty, spiced, tangy
Type of Dishcanape/crostini
Ingredients
- 4½-inch-thick slices from a bâtard (or 8 slices from a baguette or 2 slices from a large round rustic white loaf, cut in half)
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing the bread
- 1 garlic clove
- 3 tablespoons salted, Europeanstyle butter, softened just to a spreadable (not oily) consistency
- 1/8 small red onion, cut through the core and thinly sliced (about 40 slices)
- 4 fillets canned smoked sardines, backbones removed
- 24 stems pepper cress or live watercress
- Sea salt
Instructions
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Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F.
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Place the bread slices on a baking sheet, brush the tops with olive oil, and bake them for 15 to 20 minutes, until they’re lightly toasted and golden brown. (You can also toast the bread in a toaster, but without the oil. Then brush the toast with oil after they’re done.) Rub the oiled side of the crostini with the garlic and set them on your work surface, oiled side up.
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Spread about 2 teaspoons of butter in an uneven layer on each crostino, leaving the edges of the bread visible. Scatter the onion slices over the butter, dividing them evenly, lay 1 sardine on each, and top with the cress and a few grains of sea salt.
2007 Nancy Silverton
