Autumn Eats: Classic Bruschetta - Three Ways

Tomatoes

Late-season tomatoes are bursting with flavour and colour. Bruschetta, loosely meaning ‘to toast’, is the perfect base for juicy tomatoes and basil, broad beans or edamame, or new season pumpkin and caramelised onions.

Bruschetta - Three Ways

Quantities for 2, multiply as needed
Preparation: 20 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes 

Classic Bruschetta

Ingredients:

• Sliced bread - see notes
• 1 clove of peeled garlic 
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 250gms tomatoes, diced
• Fresh basil leaves
• Salt and pepper
• Optional
• Fresh lemon juice
• Feta cheese

Method:

Toast bread until firm and crunchy, set on a serving plate, and rub toast with garlic until you have used about half a clove. Drizzle with olive oil.

Slice or dice tomatoes and gently toss in olive oil and salt and pepper. Let the tomatoes sit for about 15 minutes for the salt to draw out extra flavour.

Place tomatoes on the bread, drizzle with olive oil and salt and top with basil. You can also add a squeeze of lemon juice and some crumbled feta to your bruschetta.

Edamame and Gremolata

Ingredients:

• Sliced bread - see notes
• 1 clove of peeled garlic
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 100gms of edamame or broad beans
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1 small clove of garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper

Method: 

Toast bread until firm and crunchy, set on a serving plate, and rub toast with garlic until you have used about half a clove. Drizzle with olive oil.

Ensure edamame are shelled or double-shelled if using broad beans. Gently steam the beans for 2-3 minutes or until vibrant green.

Add the beans to a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and crush with a fork until broken up and spreadable.

In a separate bowl add parsley, lemon rind, and minced garlic and stir well, drizzle with olive oil.

Spread the beans onto the bruschetta and top with gremolata and parmesan cheese.

Pumpkin and caramelised onion

Ingredients:

• Sliced bread - see notes 
• 1 clove of peeled garlic
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 250gms pumpkin
• 3 tablespoons softened cream cheese
• 1 brown onion sliced - see notes
• Fresh thyme leaves

Method:

Peel the pumpkin and cut into small cubes, toss in a bowl with olive oil and back for 20-25 minutes or until browned

For the caramelised onion, add the slices to a medium pan with a dash of olive oil until softened, then turn the heat down and cook low and slow for about 20 minutes, checking often so they aren't burning. After 20 minutes, add 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar and 1 teaspoon of brown sugar. Cook for a further ten minutes until jammy and caramelised. set aside to cool.

Toast bread until firm and crunchy, set on a serving plate, and rub toast with garlic until you have used about half a clove. Drizzle with olive oil.

Spread cream cheese onto toast, add pumpkin, and top with caramelised onion and thyme leaves, salt, and pepper.

Notes

• Use ciabatta or a dense sourdough so that when toasted, it can hold the ingredients well. Softer breads will soak in too much moisture and will not hold.
• Cherry tomatoes work well as they can be sliced in half and hold their shape well.
• Caramelised onions take time, a minimum of 30 minutes, they will store in the fridge up to a week.
• For extra spicy pumpkin, before roasting toss with a generous pinch of cayenne pepper or hot paprika.