My Bruschettas
Of late, when we come from work, we have taken to
making bruschettas for dinner. The intention is
always to eat them as a quick snack, but after
gorging ourselves on four too many ;-) , it is hard
to think of dinner again!
Even as a vegetarian, there are so many types of bruschettas you can make, what with so many varieties of breads and gazillion variations of toppings. Sometimes I even throw in leftover pastas and desserts, or indian curries as toppings and they are surprisingly the best bruschettas I have had, the only downside being I can never recreate them again!
The Mushroom Bruschetta and Grilled Eggplant Bruschettas are a big hit with guests usually. So we made them again for Anil and Shivani this time. I think I overdid the cheeses, but too much cheese is never a bad thing? I hope they liked it.
Mushroom Bruschetta
grilled French Baguette
with a layer of sundried tomato tapenade from whole foods
perfectly sauteed baby portobello mushrooms
a hint of rosemary
carmelized cipolini onions
fresh mozzarella cheese
all sauteed to perfection in extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with salt.
Grilled Eggplant Bruschetta
grilled French Baguette
with a layer grilled tomatoes, mashed slightly
grilled thinly-sliced eggplants
carmelized cippolini onions
An awesome semi-soft cow's milk cheese from whole foods, the name of which I forget!
all sauteed to perfection in extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with salt.
Clearly, subtlety seems to elude most of my bruschettas. For one thing, they are cheesy as hell and have at least one or two herbs, theres a pesto or tapenade of some sort, tomatoes in some form - grilled, sun-dried or coal-roasted*, and one or two veggies. (come to think of it, I should try making a bruschetta burger sometime)
*Whole Foods has an awesome coal-roasted tomato bruschetta-spread made with sliced plum tomatoes, garlic, onion, parsley, chopped basil, sea salt, freshly ground pepper, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and red wine vinegar: See Recipe
I usually don't care for vinegar in my food. I also don't like raw onions in bruschetta. I prefer the garlic in my bread versus in the topping. But the Whole Foods spread is an exception. I generally use it in place of a pesto or tapenade in my bruschettas every once in a while, but I certainly try to mask the sourness with the other ingredients I add to it - like a mild cheese.
Even as a vegetarian, there are so many types of bruschettas you can make, what with so many varieties of breads and gazillion variations of toppings. Sometimes I even throw in leftover pastas and desserts, or indian curries as toppings and they are surprisingly the best bruschettas I have had, the only downside being I can never recreate them again!
The Mushroom Bruschetta and Grilled Eggplant Bruschettas are a big hit with guests usually. So we made them again for Anil and Shivani this time. I think I overdid the cheeses, but too much cheese is never a bad thing? I hope they liked it.
Mushroom Bruschetta
grilled French Baguette
with a layer of sundried tomato tapenade from whole foods
perfectly sauteed baby portobello mushrooms
a hint of rosemary
carmelized cipolini onions
fresh mozzarella cheese
all sauteed to perfection in extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with salt.
Grilled Eggplant Bruschetta
grilled French Baguette
with a layer grilled tomatoes, mashed slightly
grilled thinly-sliced eggplants
carmelized cippolini onions
An awesome semi-soft cow's milk cheese from whole foods, the name of which I forget!
all sauteed to perfection in extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with salt.
Clearly, subtlety seems to elude most of my bruschettas. For one thing, they are cheesy as hell and have at least one or two herbs, theres a pesto or tapenade of some sort, tomatoes in some form - grilled, sun-dried or coal-roasted*, and one or two veggies. (come to think of it, I should try making a bruschetta burger sometime)
*Whole Foods has an awesome coal-roasted tomato bruschetta-spread made with sliced plum tomatoes, garlic, onion, parsley, chopped basil, sea salt, freshly ground pepper, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and red wine vinegar: See Recipe
I usually don't care for vinegar in my food. I also don't like raw onions in bruschetta. I prefer the garlic in my bread versus in the topping. But the Whole Foods spread is an exception. I generally use it in place of a pesto or tapenade in my bruschettas every once in a while, but I certainly try to mask the sourness with the other ingredients I add to it - like a mild cheese.
