Wanjiru’s Bruschetta

I didn’t even know what Bruschetta was until I got her email. I had to look it up. My dictionary said “toasted Italian bread drenched in olive oil and served typically with garlic or tomatoes.”

Wanjiru sent me the email in January. I was immediately excited, in fact I had some leftovers at the time, I remember thinking they would be perfect for this. Then I forgot about it.

I was at her house for dinner a week ago and she served it as appetiser! It was so good! Then I asked her what it was. Ha ha!

I decided to use the artisan bread (the dough, the baking) so I made some the day before.

Here is the email she sent me with perfect instructions:-

Have you ever had leftovers that are too little to make a decent meal. Like three spoonfuls of meat? Here’s what I do with it… 

Ingredients:
This really depends on what you have or what you want. You can go wild with the ingredients. But I mostly make mine with frankfurters or just veggies.

• sliced bread – preferably a baguette. (makes better looking shapes)
• cooked Minced Meat or Chopped cooked frankfurters
• tomato
• capsicum
• onion
• grated Cheese
• Salt
• Black Pepper    

Once you have your choice of ingredients, it’s very simple to assemble:-

Directions:
– Dice the onion, tomato and capsicum
– Mix all ingredients together in a bowl
– Sprinkle some salt and pepper
– Spread butter on the slices of bread
– Arrange the mixed ingredients on each slice and sprinkle with cheese
– Grill for 5 – 10min till the cheese has all melted

I ran out of butter this week. Haven’t been able to find butter anywhere. So I didn’t butter the bread, instead, I added about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the mix with the salt and pepper before spooning onto the bread (^_^) It’s worked out fabulously!

I pre-heated the oven to 180C in grill mode. I placed them in and waited for the cheese to melt. I set the timer for 10 minutes but it was done after 6 minutes.

Husband Rating:

We had them for breakfast, but they would make a great snack or appetiser. I would use smaller slices of bread for serving as appetiser.

Even better is the flexibility of the ingredients. You can dream up your own combination, add herbs and spices. Basil would be great on this, with some chicken pieces, tomatoes, onions….

What would you like on your bruschetta?