Crostini and Bruchetta

Crostini and Bruchetta

Truly, two of my very favorite appetizers! Why?

Because you can get SO creative with them and they're always

simple, rustic and delicious!

Here is a little "primer"...

Crostini is Italian meaning "little toasts". They are typically thin slices of bread that are drizzled with olive oil, toasted and served warm usually with some sort of a savory topping. The topping may be added prior to OR after the toasting. These crispy and small toasts are sometimes fried or grilled and used as a garnish for salads (croutons) or soups. I like to use a long, thin baguette, sliced thinly on the diagonal for crostini.

Bruschetta is from the Italian word "bruscare" meaning "to roast over coals". These are also slices of bread, but often on the thicker side, drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper and "toasted" - then the bread slices are rubbed with the cut side of a raw garlic clove to impart the garlic flavor into the bread. It is then served warm with Bruschetta "topping" such as the popular tomato and basil salad that you might be familiar with. I like using thick slices of ciabatta bread for bruschetta. 

A Tale of Two Crostini...

Here are two of my favorite crostini recipes...they both use the same "base" but have different additives that make them unique. Both are simple and delicious and should be served immediately after being taken out of the oven - make sure to make a lot of them for a party..they always go fast!

Base Ingredients:

1 cup organic mayonnaise

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh scallions

1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder

**You'll need one whole baguette for this base recipe 

Artichoke Crostini

For Artichoke Crostini...add 1 - 15 oz. can of artichoke hearts in water (NOT the marinated ones) - DRAIN all of the water out, place the artichokes on a paper towel and squeeze the remaining water out - repeat this step until they are dry - chop coarsely and add to the base mixture.

Shrimp Crostini

For Shrimp Crostini...add 1 & 1/2 cups of cooked salad shrimp (very small ones - often called "shrimpmeat"). Rinse the shrimp and dry them in a paper towel, then stir into the base mixture.

**If you're making BOTH of the variations above, you'll want to make the base two different times in two different containers. You can also just use the base alone as a topping!

Directions:

1. Move your oven rack to 6 inches below the broiler and preheat your oven on the BROIL setting.
2. Slice your baguette into thin slices on the diagonal (about 1/8-1/4 inch thick). Place them on a baking sheet.
3. Top each slice generously with the crostini topping that you have prepared. (Once recipe of the topping should cover the whole baguette) 
4. Place your baking sheet into the preheated broiler - broil 4-8 minutes - keep an eye on them the whole time, they can burn quickly - remove them from the oven once they begin to slightly brown on top.
5. Serve immediately.

Quick and Easy Tomato Basil Bruchetta...

This simple and delicious "Italian Salsa", as I like to call it, can also be used for a topping over grilled fish or meats, as a potato "stuffer" or even slightly blended and heated and eaten as a soup! I love versatile recipes!

Ingredients:

Tomato and Basil Bruchetta

• 1 loaf ciabatta bread
• several fresh garlic cloves cut in half (for rubbing the bread)
• extra virgin olive oil (for the bread)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (for the bread)
• 8 ripe Roma tomatoes, most seeds removed, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced finely
• 6-8 large fresh organic basil leaves, chopped
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 4-6 grinds black peppercorns
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Slice the ciabatta bread on the diagonal into 1/2 inch slices.
3. Using a pastry brush, coat each bread slice with the olive oil
4. Lightly sprinkle each slice of bread with salt and pepper. 
5. Place the slices in the oven and toast for 10 minutes.
6. While bread toasts, prepare the topping by mixing the remaining ingredients in a bowl. (You can make this ahead of time to let the flavors meld a little more if you wish)
7. Remove the bread from the oven - it should be crispy on top - while the bread is still hot, take a cut garlic clove and rub it over the surface of the bread. 
8. Serve the warm garlic bread slices with the topping.

I would LOVE to see some ideas and variations on crostini and bruchetta in the blog comments or on our Facebook page! Get creative and share!