Anchovy and heirloom tomato crostini

Ingredients

12 small anchovies, heads removed
1 sprig parsley
1 clove garlic
Juice of 2 lemons
Colatura (Italian anchovy sauce) or salt, to taste
6 slices crusty bread, cut in halves or thirds to make 12 to 16 pieces
Olive oil
4 heirloom tomatoes, sliced
Sea salt, to taste
 

Directions

Clean the anchovies by opening them like a book. Debone them one at a time by placing them on a cutting board belly-side down and pressing along the backbone with your thumb, then turn them over and remove the bones by snipping them with scissors at the tail end and pulling away from the body. Arrange deboned anchovies skin-side down in a shallow dish and set aside. You may substitute jarred or canned anchovies, if you like.

Finely chop parsley and garlic together and place in a small bowl. Add lemon juice and colatura. The colatura is concentrated in flavor, so add a little at a time to achieve a nice balance of acid and salt. Pour mixture over anchovies, cover with plastic and marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle bread slices with olive oil and toast until golden, about 10 minutes. Place a few slices of tomato and a few marinated anchovy fillets on each toasted bread slice. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and serve. 

Makes 12 to 16