Italian Fennel & Roasted Tomato Crostini

Shopping List

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 Fuge Italian Fennel Pork sausages, removed from casing and crumbled or 250g (half a package) of Fuge Italian Fennel Pork Ground
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 cups assorted cherry tomatoes, whole
Splash of red wine vinegar
1 tbsp butter
Fresh basil leaves, chopped to garnish
10-12 slices of thickly sliced baguette (we love the Brio Prairie Baguette or the Brio Olive Loaf)

Directions
Place a large cast iron skillet or large sauce pan on the stove and add one tablespoon of olive oil, heating until shimmering. Add sausage crumbles and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sausage meat is golden brown (about 8 minutes).

Remove sausage crumbles from skillet and set aside in a bowl. Deglaze skillet with a splash of red wine vinegar, using a spoon to scrape up the browned bits that have accumulated on the bottom.

Add remaining olive oil, cherry tomatoes and garlic to the same skillet, and use a fork or knife point to prick each tomato. Mix together until well coated.
Place a lid on your pan and cook over med-high heat until tomatoes have burst and released their juices--about 6 minutes. Remove the lid and stir, continue to cook uncovered until juices begin to evaporate and turn “jammy” (about 2 minutes).

Add butter to skillet and another splash of vinegar, again scraping up the browned bits that have accumulated. Add sausage to pan and toss until combined. Cook 2 more minutes to re-heat sausage and marry everything together. While the mixture is heating, toast your bread lightly and drizzle with olive oil.
Remove tomato mixture from stove, toss tomatoes with fresh basil. Spoon onto toasted bread and serve.

Makes 10-12 servings.