I roasted slabs of peasant bread with thin slices of pancetta on top; as the fat renders out of the pancetta, it bastes the bread, leaving the bottom and the pancetta top crisp, the center tender. It is at once indulgent, elemental, and somehow slightly taboo, a perfect hors d' oeuvre or snack.
Ingredients
Rustic peasant or sourdough bread
Extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic
Pancetta
Fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degree F.
2. Cut 1/2-inch slices from a loaf of rustic peasant or sourdough bread and trim the crusts.
3. Brush the slices on one side with extra virgin olive oil. Rub both sides with a cut clove of garlic.
4. Arrange the slices oiled side down on a baking sheet. Cover each slice completely with a thin slice of pancetta or guanciale (cured pork cheeks); they should overhang the edges a little.
5. Grind over some pepper.
6. Bake until the bottoms are golden and crisp, 25 minutes. Serve at once.
Excerpted from The Improvisational Cook by Sally Schneider (William Morrow/An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2006). Copyright 2006 by Sally Schneider.
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