- a 16-inch thin loaf Italian or French bread, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
- 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- two 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 salt
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- about 1/3 cup olivada or other bottled black olive paste(Olivada or other bottled black olive paste available at specialty foods shops and some supermarkets)
- Garnish: about 50 small fresh parsley leaves
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Arrange bread slices in one 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.
- 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.
- Put a heaping teaspoon tomato mixture on each Parmesan crostino and top with 1/4 teaspoon olive paste. Spread each plain crostino with 1/2 teaspoon olive paste. Spread each plain crostino with 1/2 teaspoon olive paste and top with a heaping 1/2 teaspoon tomato mixture.
- Garnish crostini with parsley leaves.