Photo of Bruschetta by Edyta Linert (www.edytalinert.com)

Bruschetta is a very popular Italian dish. Traditionally it is a bread topped with tomatoes and olive oil. But like many traditional foods it changes over the years, as the recipes spread all over the globe.

Nowadays the number of different Bruschetta toppings is probably near the number of all the chefs out there. It’s all comes down to the type of bread you use, its preparation, the toppings – the combinations are endless!

On that note, the Bruschetta toppings I’m showing you in this post are the traditional one and a couple of my ideas.

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BRUSCHETTA

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Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

Serves 3

Recipe by Mario

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INGREDIENTS

• 9 slices of ciabatta, sourdough, focaccia, baguette or any other of your favourite bread (1/2 inch thick)
• Sea salt
• Freshly cracked black pepper

 

• 90 g of cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
• 20 g finely chopped red onion
• 1 tbsp olive oil

 

• 50 g garden peas
• 3 slices of Parma ham
• 30 g of marinated red peppers, finely cut into small squares

 

• 3 slices of mortadella
• Half of mozzarella ball, cut in 6 thin slices
• 6 garlic cloves (with skin on)
• 1 tbsp olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

• Firstly toast baguette slices on both sides using a griddle pan (make sure it’s very hot) and set aside.

Now the toppings:

Bruschetta with cherry tomato, red onion, black pepper and olive oil (V)

1. Cut cherry tomatoes into quarters, finely chop red onion and put in a bowl along with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, then give it a gentle mix.
2. Grab 3 slices of toasted baguette and equally top each baguette with tomato salsa.

Bruschetta with Parma ham, pea & marinated red pepper salsa

1. Bring a small pan of water to the boil, season with salt, add peas and cook for 3 minutes.
2. Once cooked, transfer the peas into a small blender or smoothie maker, add 2 tbsp of cooking water, season lightly with salt and pepper and blend into a puree (add more water if needed), then set aside to cool.
3. Once puree has cooled down, mix together with marinated red pepper and check the seasoning.
4. Grab 3 slices of toasted baguette, put one slice of Parma ham on each baguette and equally spread pea and marinated red pepper salsa on top.

Bruschetta with mortadella, mozzarella and roasted garlic

1. Place garlic on a small sheet of tin foil, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, wrap it up and roast in pre heated oven, 180 degrees Celsius, for about 30 minutes.
2. Take the garlic out of the oven, unwrap it and pop the flesh out of the skin into pestle and mortar, season with salt and pepper, then mash into a paste.
3. Grab 3 slices of toasted baguette, put one slice of mortadella and 2 slices of mozzarella on each baguette and equally spread the garlic paste on top.

Now that you have all three bruschettas ready, all that is left is to eat it 🙂

NOTES

• You can make Bruschetta topping out of anything you like – I’m sure you’re creative enough to come up with something nice and tasty 🙂