Recipe

Crostini di fegatino — chicken liver spread on toasted bread

In Tuscany you'll often be offered a crostino — piece of toasted bread — topped with this pungent and delicious chicken liver spread. Washed down with a glass of Chianti, it is the genuine taste of Tuscany. This recipe is incredibly simple and comes from our book 'The Wine and Food of Europe' by Marc and Kim Millon published in 1982.

2 tbsp olive oil
25g butter
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
250g chicken livers, cleaned and roughly chopped
4 fresh sage leaves, chopped
Half a glass of Chianti
4 tbsp capers, rinsed
6 anchovy fillets, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Butter
About 20 crostini (small rounds of bread)

Method
Melt oil and better in a frying pan and saute onion until soft and golden. Add chopped liver and sage leaves and fry gently until liver is cooked, about 15 minutes or so. Add the half glass of Chianti, the capers and anchovies, and cook until the wine has reduced, a further five minutes or so.

Pass the mixture through a food mill or food process (don't over-process - the texture should still be rough and grainy) and add enough butter make into a spreadable paste. Adust seasoning to taste (Tuscans like very salty foods!).

Toast the crostini on one side (preferably over an open fire), then spread the chicken liver paste on to the untoasted side. Pop into a hot oven briefly to warm. Serve hot.

Wine: Donatella Cinelli Colombini Chianti