These garlic toasts are great with any dish involving broth, for example, these Mussels with Sweet Italian Sausage and White Wine. You can also use them as crostini with your favorite toppings, such as olive tapenade and feta cheese, hummus, tzatziki or a fresh tomato bruschetta topping. Use them as croutons on a caesar salad to add serious drama to the salad bowl. Imagine those giant croutons on your salad!

Ingredients

There are very few ingredients in these garlic toasts and each ingredient really shines. You want to use the best quality ingredients.

I think that a day old baguette works best, if you can plan in advance. Wrap the baguette in foil overnight to keep it from drying out.

• 1 baguette
• 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil (The amount may vary. You need enough to lightly brush on top of each slice.)
• 2 – 4 large garlic cloves
• 1 1/4 tsp  (approximately) sea salt

Directions

Turn your broiler onto high.

Slice the baguettes on the diagonal to make long slices. Make the slices a little less than a half inch thick.

Slice a garlic clove in half lengthwise. Rub the raw edge of the garlic across each toast. Slide the clove back and forth against the crusty sharp edges to release garlic juices and then rub it over the softer surface on each slice.

Lay the slices out on a baking sheet. You can line your baking sheet with parchment paper. I have a set of baking pans that I reserve only for roasting and don’t worry about lining them for jobs like this. The bread won’t stick.

Brush olive oil lightly over the slices. Sprinkle them with sea salt.

Put the garlic toasts under the broiler for a very short time. Watch them carefully, so that they don’t burn. They will be done in a minute or two. Remove them as soon as they start to turn lightly golden around the edges.