Italian
Silvia’s Masterclass
From
Silvia’s Masterclass
season
3
episode
3
Stracciatella crostini with cavolo nero, crispy pancetta and beans
With
Silvia Colloca
Tuscan crostini with stracciatella, cavolo nero, smashed cannellini and crisp pancetta.
PREP
15
MINS
Cook
15
MINS
SERVES
4

About this recipe
Silvia Colloca's crusty bread toasted, rubbed with garlic, then piled with creamy stracciatella, wilted cavolo nero, smashed cannellini and crisp pancetta. A Tuscan-style crostini that turns each piece into a small composed plate. Eat with the fingers, drink with red.
Stracciatella is the Puglian cheese (the strings of mozzarella curd torn into thick cream that forms the inside of the burrata) sold as its own ingredient at high-end Italian delis and increasingly at supermarkets. The texture is the point: creamier than ricotta, looser than mozzarella, salty with that proper fresh-cheese tang. Substitute with the centres of two burrata if you can't find pure stracciatella.
The pancetta-crisp-and-renderfat technique is the small step that ties the whole crostini together. D'Orsogna rolled pancetta sliced into rounds, fried hard in olive oil until golden and curled, removed to drain. The rendered fat in the pan becomes the cooking medium for the cavolo nero, which soaks up the bacon-y depth as it wilts. The kale picks up the seasoning before it even hits the bread.
Smashed cannellini beans (a tin of cooked beans warmed in olive oil and roughly mashed with a fork, seasoned with salt and pepper) form the foundational layer on the bread, providing structure and earthy depth. Garlic-rubbed toast underneath, the bean smash, the stracciatella in a soft pile, the wilted cavolo nero, the crisp pancetta. Cracked black pepper, a final drizzle of olive oil. A glass of Chianti or Nero d'Avola alongside.
Ingredients
- 8 slices of crusty bread (sourdough or ciabatta work well)
- 200g D’Orsogna Rolled Pancetta, sliced into rounds
- 1 x 400g can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 small bunch cavolo nero (about 150g), thick stems removed, leaves shredded
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 60 ml Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1-2 tablespoon of Mazzetti Apple Cider Vinegar
- 200 g Floridia Stracciatella cheese
- Chilli flakes
Method
1. Place an Essteele large frying pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil, the pancetta slices in a single layer and cook until golden and crisp, turning as needed. Once crisp, remove and set aside on a paper towel, keeping the fat in the pan.
2. To the pan with the pancetta fat, add chilli flakes, drained cannalini beans & shredded cavolo nero. Stir lightly for 3–5 minutes so the greens wilt. Season with salt and pepper, then add the vinegar. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. In a grill pan, lightly oil and grill the bread slices on both sides until golden and slightly charred. While still hot, rub each slice with a cut clove of garlic.

Silvia Colloca
Silvia Colloca is a Roman-born cook, opera singer and cookbook author who has spent the last decade documenting the regional cooking of Italy from her home in Sydney. She fronts Silvia’s Masterclass, working through the country one mother-recipe at a time. Her style is patient: fresh pasta by hand, long-rise focaccia, sauces built slow.
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