The Ultimate Easy to Prepare Vegetarian Recipes Cookbook - Tomato Basil Bruschetta

Tomato Basil Bruschetta

Ingredients:

French bread, or any bread that’s crusty on the outside and soft on the inside

Olive oil, extra virgin                          2 tablespoons or more

Tomatoes                                             1 cup or more

Basil, chopped or sliced                      ¼ cup or more

Mozzarella cheese                               ¾ cup or more

Lettuce                                                            1 leaf for each sandwich

Salt                                                      Season to taste

Pepper, black                                       Season to taste

To Prepare:

The bruschetta is very easy to prepare. You can make big, individual meal servings or small, bite-sized canapés if you ever feel like throwing a cocktail party.          

Wash the tomatoes and core them then cut them into small diced pieces, about half a centimetre if you can manage it. Also cut the mozzarella into the same size for presentation but cutting into small pieces will be fine if looks don’t really matter. Cut the basil into thin, long strips; an easy way to do this is to roll the leaves up together before slicing.

Put the tomatoes, cheese, and basil together in a bowl and toss in extra virgin olive oil; enough to evenly coat the ingredients. Season the mixture with salt and black pepper.

Toast the bread until golden brown. Brush the bread with a layer of extra virgin olive oil before placing a lettuce leaf on it followed by the tomato-basil-cheese mixture. If you’re serving the bruschetta as tiny canapés, you can place small basil leaves on top for garnish.

Another kind of sandwich that I’m sure you’re very familiar with is the basic two-slice sandwich, with the filling of food in two slices of bread. Think pan-fried peanut butter and banana sandwich or peanut butter and jelly. To fancy it up a little, have a wheat bread sandwich with thin slices of red onion, basil, a dollop of tofu mayo, and some egg slices or a slice of grilled pineapple.

The other kind of sandwich that you may not be so familiar with is the pinwheel sandwich which is basically made up of a slice of soft bread with the filling placed on top like an open-faced sandwich that is then rolled up, forming a pinwheel. 

This is an excerpt from the book: The Ultimate Easy to Prepare Vegetarian Recipes Cookbook