Bruschetta

Bruschetta is a delicious and easy appetizer than is extremely versatile and great for preparing ahead of time if you are entertaining. I love to use cannellini beans, plenty of fresh herbs and diced tomatoes tossed with a bright fresh balsamic vinaigrette.

Bruschetta pronounced (per Giada) Bru-sketta roll the Rrrr long U, people.  I love to add cannellini beans to my bruschetta topping, they add great texture and they soak up the balsamic flavors giving you something more to bite into!

Brew-shetta, OH whoops!, I meant Bru-sketta makes a great starter for any party.  It’s easy to toss the ingredients together ahead of time and assemble quickly just before serving or sometimes I like to serve the components separately for people to assemble themselves.  Here’s  how I make bruschetta.

I start with a baguette or two 😉  Sliced thin on a diagonal so I get more surface space.  Place on a baking sheet and brush lightly with olive oil on both sides, and rub with a clove of garlic.  Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes or until toasts just begin to brown.  Allow to cool completely before topping and serving.  This part of the appetizer is nice to make ahead of time. Allow crostini’s to cool completely and store in a zip-loc bag until ready to use.  Crostini’s can also be frozen you just need to pop them back int he oven for a few minutes to freshen them up.

Now for the topping.  This is where you can get creative.  Feel free…very free to make this recipe your own!  Use what you have.  Bruschetta is basically a delicious way to use up the leftover stale bread.  I’m sure Aggie would tell you that nothing goes to waste in an Italian kitchen and this is just one of many delicious creations that can be enjoyed!

I did a little googling on bruschetta just to see how everyone else does it.  To my surprise everything from crostini’s with thinly sliced meat to crostini’s with nutella and shaved chocolate popped up!  Well the nutella might be going a bit too far outside the bruschetta box for me.  I do like to add cannellini beans to my bruschetta.  I love these little buggers.  You will need one can drained and rinsed!

Add beans to a glass bowl then add chopped red onions, cherry tomatoes (I like to use red and yellow tomatoes for added color!), and basil, then season to your liking with salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil.  Don’t have basil then use fresh rosemary, thyme, or oregano!

Give all this goodness a toss, let it marinade 30 minutes to 24 hours.  I can actually eat this little salad on it’s own…but OH momma when you lay it on top of garlic toasts and drizzle some of the juice over top letting it seep into the bread….can you say scrumptious?!

Pretty on the palate as well as the plate!  Bruschetta is comforting, fresh, and satisfying!  I hope you ENJOY! Sheila

Bruschetta

Sheila

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 28 minutes mins

Course Appetizer

Cuisine appetizer, Italian

Servings 10 pieces

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Crostini

• 2 Baguettes cut crosswise on a diagonal
• 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 large cloves of Garlic peeled

Topping

• 1 16 ounce can Cannellini Beans drained and rinsed
• 2 cups diced Cherry Tomatoes
• 1/3 cup diced Red Onion
• 6 leaves Basil cut into thin strips
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
• fresh ground Black Pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Cut baguettes in 1/2 inch slices crosswise on a diagonal, this gives you more surface space for your toppings. Place in a single layer on baking sheet. Brush each piece on both sides with olive oil. Take garlic clove and gently rub clove across each piece of bread. Place in preheated oven for 5 minutes or until bread slices just begin to brown. Remove and allow to cool completely before topping.
• note ~ crostini’s can be made the day before, or even weeks ahead of time if you want to freeze them in a zip-loc bag pop them back in the oven for a few minutes to freshen them up.
• Drain and rinse beans add to a glass bowl along with diced cherry tomatoes, red onion, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Allow bruschetta toppings to marinade at least 30 minutes before topping crostini’s with it.
• note ~ this topping can be made up to 24 hours before serving, remove from refrigerator at least an hour before serving to bring toppings to room temperature before serving.
• Assembling Bruschetta: Place crostini’s on a serving platter and spoon topping over top, making sure to get some of the juice from the toppings and drizzle it over so it soaks in to the toasts. If there doesn’t seem to be enough juice in the bowl for drizzling you can also drizzle with straight up balsamic and oil and feel free to also give an extra crack of pepper over the top and sprinkle of basil if you have extra.

Notes

An alternative to the above way of serving is to place all the components out separately…possibly even making a couple different bruschetta toppings and allow your guests to assemble their own bruschetta.

Keyword appetizer, cannelini beans, crostini, fresh herbs, tomato

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