Recipes Appetizers Hors d'oeuvres Bruschetta + Crostini Crostini with Scamorza and Peperonata 5.0 (1) 1 Review New York City chef Andrew Carmellini tops crusty grilled bread with Italian scamorza cheese and a mildly spicy mix of peppers. He swears by dried Calabrian oregano pulled right off the stem as the perfect finish to the tasty crostini. Slideshow: More Crostini Recipes By Andrew Carmellini Andrew Carmellini F&W Star Chef » See All F&W Chef Superstars Though he’s won tremendous acclaim for his modern Italian dishes at New York’s Locanda Verde, F&W Best New Chef 2000 Andrew Carmellini is fascinated by traditional American cooking, which he explores at his restaurant The Dutch and in his book American Flavor. Here, his number one entertaining tip, his favorite cookbook and the basic technic everyone should master. What’s one great entertaining tip? Pour heavily. What’s your most requested recipe, the one dish you’re most known for? The rabbit potpie at The Dutch, the sheep’s milk ricotta at Locanda Verde. What’s your favorite cookbook of all time?La Méthode, by Jacques Pépin, the first cookbook I was ever given. What’s the best cheap cooking gadget?Vegetable peeler. One technique everyone should know? How to use heat and fire correctly is elemental.2000 Best New Chef Bio Why Because while working in the French style of the restaurant's owner, Daniel Boulud, he has forged a culinary identity all his own. Born Cleveland, 1971. Education Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, NY. Experience Le Cirque 2000 and Lespinasse in New York City. First thing prepared Tossed salad with vegetables from his family's backyard garden. How he got into cooking "I was a very hyperactive kid. My mom says cooking was the only thing that would calm me down." What he'd be if he weren't a chef A guitarist in a rock band. "I've been playing guitar since I was six." A request he said no to Grilled skate. "It's difficult to grill skate." Strangest food eaten Baby loofah (a gourd whose fibrous skeleton is commonly used as a bath sponge) with mushrooms and preserved sea scallops at Ping's Seafood in Queens, in New York City. Favorite food books "I have a lot of out-of-print reference books on plants, flowers and vegetables." How he gets to work Bicycle. Least favorite food Sea urchin. A frustration The sudden rise in food allergies. "I wonder why that is?" Favorite wine "The monster reds. I had a 1971 Ridge Montebello recently that was so good it was almost a meal." Won Best New Chef at: Café Boulud, New York City Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on September 1, 2016 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Total Time: 1 hrs Yield: 4 to 6 Ingredients 1/2 pound mixed baby sweet peppers, stemmed and halved if small or quartered if large 1 small red onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing Kosher salt Pepper 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 1/4 cup chopped pickled hot peppers, such as peperoncini and banana, plus 2 tablespoon brine from the jar 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley 1 tablespoon finely chopped oregano Six 1-inch-thick slices of Italian or ciabatta bread 6 ounces scamorza cheese, cut into 6 slices Directions Preheat a grill pan. In a medium bowl, toss the sweet peppers and sliced onion with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. In 2 batches, grill over moderate heat, turning occasionally, until lightly charred in spots, 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Return to the bowl. Keep the grill pan on. In a small skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened but not browned, about 2 minutes. Scrape the garlic and oil into the pepper mixture. Add the pickled peppers and their brine and toss well. Stir in the parsley and oregano and season the peperonata with salt and pepper. Brush the bread with olive oil and grill over moderately high heat, turning once, until lightly charred, about 2 minutes total. Transfer to a platter and top with the scamorza. Pile the peperonata on top and serve. Make Ahead The peperonata can be refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving. Rate it Print