The bruschetta with sausage and Stracchino is a delicious appetizer typical of Tuscan cuisine. The preparation is effortless. The quality of the ingredients will define the overall result. Begin with a loaf of rustic country bread, low salt, and slightly acidic taste. The sausage has to have an acceptable percentage of meat and fat, and lastly, the cheese, which has to have spreadability and rich in fat content. You can prepare them in very little time, once all the ingredients have been selected and ready. The bruschetta can be part of a light lunch, perhaps paired with a refreshing salad or roasted seasonal vegetables. The recipe calls for Stracchino cheese; a traditional cows milk cheese from Lombardy is the common ancestor for other esteemed cheeses such as Gorgonzola and Taleggio.
Consumed when young, the cheese has a soft, creamy texture and a mild and delicate flavor. The name Stracchino derives from the Italian word “stracca, meaning tired. If you cannot find Stracchino in your local market, the French Brie will work well as a substitute.
Bruschette with sausage and Stracchino cheese
The first step is to peel the sausage meat from the casing. Peel the sausages. Gather the meat and the cheese in a bowl and mix well using a spoon. Slice the country bread in even slices. Spread a generous amount of the sausage and cheese mixture on top of each piece of bread. Don’t overdo it.
Place the slices of bread on a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in a 325 Fahrenheit preheated oven for about 10 minutes, or until a nice crispy color forms around the edges of the bread. Since the sausage is raw, it is good to ensure that it is fully cooked before serving. The top of the sausage spread will achieve a lovely crust once ready. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper, and serve hot, with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top.
Suggestions
In the recipe, the sausage is mixed raw with Stracchino and then baked in the oven; alternatively, you can crumble it in a hot pan, blend it with a drop of white wine and cook until it is well browned. Once cold, mix it with the cream cheese and spread the cream obtained on the slices of bread, which will then be put in the oven at 180 ° C for about ten minutes.
The advice is to use the typical Tuscan bread without salt, ideal to taste with incredibly savory ingredients. Still, you can also choose another type of bread: durum wheat, wholemeal, naturally leavened, Apulian kind, and so on. To give the preparation more fragrance, you can also add some fennel seeds.
Keep the leftovers in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days, secured in an airtight container. Before using again, reheat them for a few minutes on medium heat.
