Burnt olive croutons
Really smoky, tasty croutons. And very simple.
Serving per person
1-2 slices stale-ish bread, brown or white, ciabatta or anything
generous slosh olive oil
salt, pepper, dried chilli
Cut your bread into roughly 1cm cubes.
Heat some olive oil in a wok or frying pan, add your bread cubes and stir fry over a high light until crisp and blackening.
Although I wouldn't normally use olive oil to fry at a high light, somehow it works for this, and imparts a good strong, smoky olive-oil flavour to the croutons.
Quickly grind in salt, pepper and chilli flakes. Stir a couple more times, then serve or tip out onto a plate to cool.
Good with pasta, salads, soups, etc.