Nosh: Bruschetta and Crostini

Bruschetta and Crostini

Bruschetta is easy and versatile. The nice thing about serving bruschetta (or crostini) when you have company is that you can make the toppings well ahead, and when you set them all out on the table you have an impressive array of colors, textures, flavors. Olives, fried capers, and good Italian cheese served alongside makes for a beautiful table ... and the aroma of grilling bread will make your friends will think they've nipped down to Italy. You can also throw a bruschetta together at the last minute if your friends pop in on you. I often make it at home when I don't feel like cooking anything complicated or even remotely involved. If you chop up a bunch of garlic and keep it in the fridge for when you need it, that's half the battle right there.

Jamie's Italy has loads of ideas, and I've tried a bunch. I'm not going to give the full recipes for these because you guys are all professionals anyway. The basic idea is to to make the toppings ahead, then grill the bread when it's time to serve, lightly rubbing the grilled pieces with a clove of garlic while still warm.

Tomato and basil
2 handfuls of nice mixed ripe tomatoes; small bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked; sea salt and freshly ground pepper; olive oil; good-quality white wine or herb vinegar. (Shown above)

Baby artichokes
8 baby artichokes; 4 cloves of garlic; juice of 1 lemon; evoo; a handful of fresh mint, leaves picked, sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Pea and broad bean puree with pecorino
In a pestle and mortar or a food processor, smash up a small handful of mint leaves with 2 good handfuls of freshly podded peas and broad beans until they look like mushy peas. Add a large handful of freshly grated pecorino or Parmesan, then loosen with a couple of good lugs of evoo and balance the flavours with a little lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Smear this over each of your hot crostini and finish with some grated pecorino or Parmesan and a little mint.

Tomato and Olive
Cherry tomatoes (different colors if possible), chopped good green or black olives. Toss with evoo and balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, a little crushed red chilli.

Greens
Boil garlic and greens in salted water until tender. Drain, cool, chop up, season with salt, pepper, lemon juice and evoo.

Courgettes (aka Zucchinis)
Slice and boil a few small courgettes. Drain well. While still warm, toss with good olive oil, lemon juice, and season. (Not from the book)

Mixed Roasted Vegetables
Roast veggies, tossed with oregano, mint, olive oil, salt and pepper, on a tray for about half an hour. Cool, chop finely (knife or food processor), season with lemon juice or herb vinegar.

Buffalo mozzarella and chilli
Buffalo mozz, finely chopped red chilli, basil, evoo, season with salt and pepper.

Spinach with Garlic and Radicchio
This is my adaptation of the "Greens" recipe above. While the spinach is still warm, add a few gratings of nutmeg and black pepper. Toss in a bit of finely shredded radicchio. The heat will wilt the radicchio, which contrasts with the spinach nicely. Closeup