I’m really into bruschette these days. Like, really into it. I keep trying to come up with new and bizarre toppings. It takes hardly any time to whip up a huge batch, add several different toppings, fill up a few pretty platters and serve them as an appetizer. Crowd pleaser, I tell ya. This topping is derived from a yummy pasta dish I used to make a lot, until I gave birth to a child who hates artichokes with the passion of a thousand fiery suns.

Last weekend I figured why not turn it into a bruschetta? It worked out beautifully. Like it is with a lot of simple Italian recipes, this one falls or stands by the quality and freshness of the ingredients.

Ingredients:

French bread
2 big ripe tomatoes
1 mozzarella ball
2 artichoke hearts
fresh basil
1 tbsp oil
2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp balsamic
1/4 lemon
pepper
salt

Optional: red or spring onion



Directions:

It’s a really simple recipe with only a small handful ingredients. My kinda food.

Wash, dry and finely chop the tomatoes. Look for really red, plum tomatoes.

You can use them as is, but I choose to drain them while I’m moving on with the recipe. This way the bread won’t get all soggy.

Finely chop the soft part of the artichoke hearts and rip the mozzarella into small pieces. Don’t chop it, ripping it looks way better.

One or two finely minced green onion or a small part of thinly sliced red onion add a wonderful zing as well.

In a bowl you combine the oil, red wine vinegar, balsamic and splash of lemon juice with 1 small grated garlic clove. Mine was humongous! I used 1/3 of it and used the rest to rub on the bruschette.

Check this out, my new ‘waste’ bowl, that’s a bowl I keep on the kitchen counter to dump all the peels, wrappings etc while I’m cooking. I don’t think I ever mentioned my unhealthy love for anything that even remotely resembles a flower power flower, have I?

I dumped the tomatoes, artichokes, mozzarella and dressing into the bowl, mixed it up and seasoned with a good pinch of salt and black pepper.

Finely chop a handful basil and add it to the bowl as well.

The bruschetta, you’ve seen how I made those in my garden puree bruschetta, right? Just slice the bread, brush oil on top and pop them in a hot oven until golden brown and crispy. Rub a halved garlic clove over the bread while it’s still warm.

Top the bruschetta with the tomato mix and serve with a nice glass prosecco. Summer time!

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