A collection of recipes of traditional Italian appetizers, including Eggplant Croquettes, Onions in a Balsamic Vinegar, Crostini, Stuffed onions and more.

Roast Peppers & Goat’s Cheese Canapés

Crostini are little appetizers that you can invent yourself depending on what’s in season and what ingredients you happen to have around. We often serve these crostini (which are red, white and yellow) alongside our green salsa verde crostini. A pretty combination!
eggplant croquettes

Eggplant /Aubergine Croquettes

One of the most delicious things invented! Best fried just before you serve them, but they are fine at room temperature too if it’s a hot day. These go quickly when we make them at our cooking school in Tuscany!

Bean and Escarole Soup (or Crostini)

You can serve small quantities of this Tuscan bean dish on crostini, as an appetizer, or larger quantities as a hearty soup.

Focaccia with cherry tomatoes and oregano

An easy but unusual focaccia recipe which makes a rustic-textured, half wholewheat bread. Ideal to eat with cheeses and salad.

Rustic Focaccia

An easy but unusual focaccia recipe which makes a rustic-textured, half wholewheat bread. Ideal to eat with cheeses and salad.

Small Onions in a Balsamic Vinegar Reduction

Your guests will be fighting over these tangy onions! Remember to provide plenty of bread to mop up the delicious caramelized sauce coating them. At our cooking school in Tuscany, this side dish is one of the biggest hits!

Sundried Tomatoes

Sundried tomatoes prepared like this tend to much tastier than the ones you find already prepared in oil.

Salsa Verde Canapés

Crostini are little appetizers that you can invent yourself depending on what’s in season and what you have in the house. Salsa verde is a tangy herby sauce often served to accompany boiled meats, but delicious in its own right.

Tuscan Chicken Liver Paté

This is the most classic of all Tuscan crostini. Even those who say they don’t like paté love this one!

Fried Zucchini Blossoms

This is a dish to be made and savoured immediately. You can even make it as a pre-dinner nibble while you finish cooking something time-consuming with friends.