Crostini Marinari - Seafood Crostini

Having some leftover seafood from a tapas party, I was looking around for a somewhat uncomplicated recipe that wouldn't require a shopping trip and this recipe fit the bill.

I found it odd that the recipe called for cooked shrimp but did not specify whether the small squid should be raw or cooked. I decided to lightly poach both, since they were going to get another fifteen minutes in the oven anyway.

I chopped the seafood, a garlic clove, and some parsley and mixed them with a couple of tablespoons of breadcrumbs and a lightly beaten egg, drizzled it with extra-virgin olive oil and seasoned it with salt and pepper. I thought it seemed a bit bland and dry, so I decided I'd do some test batches. I spooned some of the mixture onto a couple of slices of bread and baked on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes (350º).

Sure enough, the first batch was dry and bland. I added another beaten egg and some more garlic and parsley and tried a second batch. Still not that great. So I applied my ETBB method and drizzled in some dry sherry. Still another less than exciting and somewhat dry batch. In a last effort to save the food, I added a slice of fresh mozzarella onto each crostini. Bingo! The melty cheesy goodness packed in the moisture and saved the flavour.

While the end result was tasty, I don't think I'd bother with this recipe again... I'd probably look for a different use for my seafood in the future.

Tasty Factor: C Ease of Preparation: B Modifications: Yes. Many. Added another egg, some sherry, more garlic and mozzarella.