Quick and Easy Summer Bruschetta

Have you ever made bruschetta? I had never made bruschetta before (or anything not from a recipe), but found myself with some olive bread, zucchini, grape tomatoes, kalamata olives and fresh basil and figured how hard could it be? It turns out it’s embarrassingly quick and easy to make bruschetta (and this from the girl who famously — or infamously — once told her mother-in-law “I’m too young to cook.” Oops.). This quick and easy summer bruschetta is perfect as an appetizer for dinner parties, garden parties or cocktail parties and makes a fast and pretty healthy vegetarian lunch. If you’re into that. Or dinner, if you’re me. Since bruschetta is all about simple, fresh vegetables, use the best ingredients you can find for the most flavor.

How To Make Bruschetta

What You’ll Need:

–  1 zucchini

–  1 pint of grape tomatoes

–  1 handful of fresh basil

–  1 handful of kalamata olives

–  1/2 loaf of the best artisan bread you can find (French works well; I used olive bread)

–  2-4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

–  1-2 tsp. sea salt

–  1-2 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper

Quick & Easy Summer Bruschetta Recipe

Makes 10 slices; Serves 2-4 (depending on how hungry you are!)

1.Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Chop olives and tomatoes lengthwise.

3. Quarter zucchini into comparable sized pieces (chop everything to approx. the same size so everything cooks at the same rate – easy peasy!). Note: If you like your toppings smaller, chop everything in half again, and in half again if you are a baby bird.

4. Chop the fresh basil. The easiest way is to chiffonade, which is just a fancy way to say stack your basil leaves (after washing them and patting dry), then starting from the top down, roll the stack of leaves tightly, grab your knife and cut thin strips off of the roll. Martha will be proud! See, fancy:

5. Toss the chopped basil, tomatoes, zucchini and olives into a bowl. Add olive oil, sea salt (not too much, as the olives are quite salty on their own) and pepper until well-coated; toss. Taste. Note how this also makes a yummy simple salad, alone or as a side to chicken or fish. Revel in your genius. Sip some pinot grigio. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

6. Line baking sheet with foil.

7. Slice bread, put bread slices on top of the foil, and top slices with veggie mix.

8. Drizzle tops with a bit more olive.

9. Slide your colorful masterpiece into the oven for 8-12 minutes. Bruschetta is done when you see veggies begin to soften and bread reaches desired crispness level.

IN CONCLUSION

Voila! I’m looking forward to trying this in the fall with fresh figs and goat cheese. Do you have any quick, easy and delicious recipes you’d like to share?

Photos and recipe by kellygolightly