Ingredients

• 1 (16-inch thin loaf) Italian or French bread, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 (28-ounce) cans Italian whole tomatoes, seeded and drained
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small garlic clove, chopped and mashed to a paste with 1/2 teaspoon
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• Salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup olivada or other bottled black olive paste (available at specialty foods shops and some supermarkets)
• 50 small fresh parsley leaves, for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Arrange bread slices in 1 layer on 2 baking sheets and sprinkle half with Parmesan. Toast slices in upper and lower thirds of oven until crisp and golden, 8 to 12 minutes, and cool. Crostini may be made 2 weeks ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.
3. In a colander or sieve drain tomatoes well, pressing gently on solids to squeeze out as much liquid as possible, and blot with paper towels. Chop tomatoes fine. In a bowl stir together tomatoes, oil, garlic paste, parsley, sugar, and salt and pepper, to taste.
4. Put 1 heaping teaspoon tomato mixture on each Parmesan crostini and top with 1/4 teaspoon olive paste. Spread each plain crostini with 1/2 teaspoon olive paste, and top with a heaping 1/2 teaspoon tomato mixture.
5. Garnish crostini with parsley leaves.