Half of our honeymoon we spent in Italy and while we were in Venice, we had to try their famous ciccetti. We tried a bunch of different kinds while we were there but our favorite one was this purple looking cream that we had no idea what it was. We realized it was like a kalamata olive cream cheese. Once we got home, my chef husband quickly whipped something together and it tasted just like it! We have had it so many times already in the last month and a half. We added castelvetrano olives because they’re my favorite olives and it’s the perfect little topper! I actually hate kalamata olives normally but they’re amazing in this. We also had a bunch of friends and family try it and even the ones that don’t like it have loved these!
We’ve made a lot of different crostini recipes in the past, but I think this is my all time favorite. I also like not having to cut and toast each piece individually like with traditional crostinis. All of the ones we tried in Venice just had fresh bread but I think toasting the whole baguette like we did for this recipe gives it a nice crunch but still nice and soft inside.
Ingredients Needed for Olive Cicchetti:
- kalamata olives
- mascarpone
- cream cheese
- french baguette
- castelvetrano olives
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup mascarpone
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1.5 tbsp kalamata olive brine
- french baguette
- castelvetrano olives
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Beat kalamata olives, mascarpone, cream cheese, and olive brine together for a few minutes. (If mixture seems too thick, you can add a bit more mascarpone. You can use it immediately but the flavor is a bit better if you leave in the fridge overnight.)
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Put baguette whole in oven for 8 minutes at 375°.
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Slice into 1/4”-1/2” slices.
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Top slices with a generous amount of olive cream cheese mixture.
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Slice castelvetrano olives in half and put on top of cream cheese.
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Enjoy!
