Brushetta
If you are a restaurant waiter or waitress and have never visited Italy or studied Italian then repeat after me. Kettle. Kettle. Kettle. Now say Bruschetta.
If you do know how to pronounce bruschetta then raise your hand if you’ve been mis-corrected when ordering same by a waiter or a waitress with “ooooh you mean the broooooshettta.” No we f””ing don’t, we mean the Brus-kettle, Brus-kittle, Brus-cooking, Brushetta. as in Qu, Qu, Qu, Qu, Quieeetly not shhhhhhh.
It’s irritating, not the mispronouncing bit but the mis-correcting bit.
I love when somewhen makes an effort and a stab at pronoucing something they’ve never come across before on a menu and I do it myself instead of mutely pointing. I will fumble with my few words of French and Italian when abroad and every time I do I learn something, I am helped but I am never mis-corrected.
This tomato and goat’s cheese bruschetta is perfectly balanced summer dining – protein, vegetables and carbs. Go heavy on the vegetables and you’ll be flying it and deserving of that accompanying glass of something chilled and white.
I often pick up fresh crusty loaves of bread for the kids to sustain themselves on with soup but it often reaches the second day not fully used up and turning stale. At a day old it is perfect as a bruschetta platform.
Bruschetta
You will need:
Day old crusty bread.
Garlic cloves for rubbing onto bread.
Small punnet Cherry tomatoes
3 or 4 Spring Onions
2 Garlic Cloves
Half a cucumber
Half a red pepper
Drizzle olive or rapeseed oil
Salt and black pepper
Goats Cheese Log
Fresh Parsley to garnish
Method:
Rinse chop and combine the cherry tomatoes, spring onions, 2 garlic cloves, half cucumber (peeled) and half a red pepper. Drizzle and mix through some oil and season well with salt and ground black pepper.
Heat the grill and lightly toast the sliced bread then brush each slice back and forth on top with a cut clove of garlic.
Top the lightly grilled bread with tomato & garlic mixture and top with a few pieces of goats cheese.
Return to hot grill until cheese is softening.
Serve with a light garnish of finely chopped parsley.
Enjoy.
‘Til next time, Sheila.
