Easy Bruschetta Recipe

Italy-Inspired Bruschetti Bruschetta

So, I just got back from my amazing bacholerette trip to Italy. Needless to say, I had tons of Italian food, all sorts. And I was very surprised to find great vegetarian options, especially after being warned by travel magazines that constantly bash on Italian food in Italy.

I still had half a pack of bruschetti ( dry bruschetta in a pack that one can eat like chips) with me from the trip, and I was obviously already missing authentic Italian food. So I decided to take this opportunity to top it with tomato and pesto, just like they serve in Italy! You can also make it with fresh baguette. This 5- step recipe is perfect as a midnight or after-office snack. 

Here's the bruschetti I used. You can use fresh bread instead.

You'll need

1 tomato, chopped

Dry pesto paste or fresh pesto

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt

Bruschetti

1. Lay out the bruschetti on a plate. 

2. Top each of them with chopped tomatoes, making sure they're even and not instantly falling off. 

3. Add 1 spoon olive oil to 1 spoon pesto paste and mix well. Add a pinch of sea salt. 

4. Add a bit to each bruschetti. 

5. Eat. 

Moroccan Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Moroccan Stuffed Peppers with Couscous with Spices, Herbs and Nuts

I have been trying different forms of stuffed peppers (with rice, mashed potatoes or couscous) and also different types of couscous (with tomato puree and on breads), but it has never been an experience that entirely satisfied me. Until now, that is. 

I tried this a few days ago, inspired by a recipe I found online here on Al'Fez. I added my own variations to it by cooking the couscous with spices, nuts and herbs, and another one of my kitchen what-if experiments- what if I added all types of tomatoes- roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and sundried tomatoes (it was awesome) and voila, a dish I could eat for dinner, or even pack and take to office for a delicious vibrant lunch! 

Cooking time- 40 mins
Serves- 2

You'll need:
- 1/2 cup couscous
- 2-3 peppers of different colors (I used red and yellow)
- Fresh parsley- 4-5 twigs
- Fresh basil- 6-7 large leaves
- Fresh mint leaves- 2-3 twigs
- Roma tomato- 1 medium sized
- Sundried tomatoes- a couple of slices
- Cherry tomatoes- a handful
- Nuts- cashews, pine nuts and raisins- a handful
- Red onion- 1 small
- Garlic- 3-4 cloves- minced
- Spices- Cumin seeds, black pepper, paprika, turmeric powder, 1 tsp crushed cilantro
- Olive oil
- Al Fez Moroccan Spiced Couscous, 200g

How to:- 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
- Halve and seed the colored peppers. 
- In a small container, mix 1 tbsp olive oil with a pinch of salt, and half the minced garlic. Drizzle over the peppers on a baking dish. 
- Roast in the oven for 20-ish minutes, while turning sides as they start to brown and soften. Set aside.
- Separately, chop the red onion and roma tomato finely. Halve the cashews, raisins, and cherry tomatoes. Also, chop the sundried tomatoes, mint leaves, parsley and basil coarsely.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan and add  the 1/2 tsp cumin seeds. When they start to sputter, add cashews, raisins, pine nuts, onions and remaining garlic. 
- Stir for 4-5 minutes on medium heat until the onions start to brown, then add the herbs and roma tomatoes and cook for another 4-5 minutes. 
- After the roma tomatoes begin to soften and mash, reduce the heat, add the sundried tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes. Also add seasoning. Mix well, avoid mashing up the cherry tomatoes, and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes look soft enough. 
- Add couscous and 1½ cup water. Mix well and cover it for 5 minutes. 
- Stir and fluff the grains with a fork, add more water and cook if needed. 
- Stuff the roasted peppers with the couscous and serve warm.

Moroccan Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli Recipe

Oven-Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli with Nuts, Herbs and Caramelized Onions

Wow! I just finished the most amazing dinner and couldn't wait to share how I made it. It was a spinoff of some of the things I have already tried before. But this combination was wholesome and filling. And as it should always be- tasty! 

Guess these days I have been on a Mediterranean food streak. And look at what I found while reading about Mediterranean food on Wikipedia: "...there really is no such thing as "Mediterranean cuisine." At the same time, we seem to know what we mean when we use the expression..."! So true! That's why it often makes me wonder how to experiment with it, because I am no longer sure whether what I ended up making even belonged to this so-called cuisine. Maybe some of you experts can tell me...

Serves- 1
Cooking time: 40 minutes

You'll need: 
- Cauliflower and broccoli florets- 1½ cup
- Red and green bell peppers- ½ of each (optional)
- Cilantro- 10-12 twigs
- Mint- 6-8 twigs
- Basil- 5-7 leaves
- Parsley- 4-5 twigs
- Red onion- 1 small
- Garlic- 3-4 small cloves
- Rasins, cashews and almonds- a handful
- Salt, black pepper powder, red chilli flakes, cumin seeds
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar

- Preheat the oven to 420 degrees. Line a baking dish with foil and put cauliflower and broccoli florets in it.
- Cut almonds, cashews and raisins into halves or thirds and add them to the baking dish.
- Separate the stems from the twigs of cilantro, mint, basil and parsley, but do not separate the leaves. Add to the baking dish.
- In a small container, add salt, black pepper powder, red chilli flakes and 1tsp cumin seeds to 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. 
- Finely chop or grate the garlic and add to the container. Mix well and add to the baking dish, mixing with the veggies well, making sure they are well coated with oil.
- Put in the oven and let them roast, turning occasionally.
- The herbs and nuts should be done before the cauliflower and broccoli, say in 5-7 minutes. Take them out in a plate. 
- Separately, chop the onion and peppers into long medium sized slices. 
- Heat a skillet to medium-low heat and put the onions and peppers on it.
- Add 2 tsp balsamic vinegar and toss.
- Cook until the onions are brown at the edges, tossing frequently.
- When the cauliflower and broccoli are well roasted (they start to brown but do not blacken in like 20 minutes), take them out and mix them with well the herbs, nuts and caramelized onions and peppers. 
- Serve hot.

Orange Soup- Carrot, Orange Pepper and Tomato Soup (not involving oranges)

Mumbai monsoons made me sick last month and I ended up cooking healthy but quick and tasty food for myself for a quick recovery. Of course even fever couldn't keep me from experimenting in the kitchen!

So this is what I thought- why not combine all the orange-colored vegetables and see what becomes of it. It was very healthy and I had it with lightly toasted focaccia bread. Other suggestions for accompaniments are welcome!

Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 1

You'll need:
- Orange bell pepper- 1
- Carrots- 2 medium sized
- Roma tomato- 1 medium sized
- White onion- ½ small sized
- Garlic- 2-3 cloves
- Whole milk-½ cup
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh parsley- 2 twigs
- Salt, pepper, red chilli flakes (optional), cumin seeds

- Coarsely chop the veggies, onion and garlic.
- Heat 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a pot, and add 1 tsp cumin seeds.
- Add onion and garlic and cook till they start to brown or caramelize, stirring often.
- Add the chopped carrots. Stir and cook on medium heat for about 4-5 minutes, until they soften.
- Add orange peppers, and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Finally, add the roma tomatoes and cook for another 2 or so minutes. Add the salt, pepper and chilli flakes to taste. Mix well and cook until the tomatoes soften. Turn the heat off.
- Add 1 tbsp milk and stir.
- Add the mix to a blender.
- Also separate the parsley leaves from the twigs and add to the blender. Reserve one for garnish.
- Blend until the mix becomes a smooth paste, adding another tbsp or so milk as needed.
- Boil the remaining milk in the pot, and add the blended paste. Mix well and bring the soup to a boil. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve hot and enjoy.

Bruschetta on Focaccia Bread with Onions Caramelized in Balsamic Vinegar, Cherry Tomatoes, Rosemary and Peppers

For the Day 2 of my Italian Food Week, I decided to try an appetizer. Once again, this was an experiment, but I guess one can hardly go wrong with combining so many delicious things! This bruschetta is very easy and fast to make, and totally addictive! I got so addicted to it that I made it everyday for the whole week. I think it is a perfect little appetizer to have when I am super hungry after office and need a quick fix.

I had it with kalamata olives and an amazing white wine from Marques de Riscal, that I recently bought in memory of my trip to the winery as a Graduate School of Design student. It went pretty well with the bruschetta and made a good accompaniment to my meal.

Another interesting thing I would like to write about is the fragrance. It has the whole caramelized balsamic with fresh rosemary and tomatoey fragrance going on when you make it. It is just so pleasing and smile-inducing. And it is so colorful. Okay, I hope that makes everyone hungry enough and now I’ll move on to the recipe already!

Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 1-2

You’ll need:

4 slices of Focaccia bread

½ Medium sized red onion

Peppers of different colors: red, yellow, green- a quarter of each medium-sized pepper

1 twig of fresh rosemary

A handful of cherry tomatoes

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Prep:

1. Chop onion lengthwise, each of the peppers into small ½” pieces, and cherry tomatoes into halves longitudinally.

2. Separate the rosemary leaves from the twig and chop them coarsely.

3. Heat a skillet for a couple of seconds on medium-high, and put the onions on it. Pour 1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar on it and toss so the onions are well-coated with it. Let them caramelize for about 4-5 minutes or until they begin to get charred, tossing ocassionally.

4. Just when they begin to get charred, remove them from the skillet and set aside.

5. Pour 1 tsp olive oil on a fresh skillet placed on low heat. Place the rosemary, peppers and cherry tomatoes and toss well so the veggies are well-coated. You can use the same skillet if you want the veggies to have a balsamic flavor as well.

6. Cook for about 5 minutes more, tossing ocassionally, until the cherry tomatoes are softer and start to lose their firm shape but the peppers are still crunchy.

7. Remove the veggies from the skillet and set aside. Mix with the onions.

8. Place the slices of focaccia bread on the same skillet to heat it slightly on low flame. Turn to the other side carefully so as to not break it. Heat for about 30 seconds on each side.

9. Set the bread slices on a plate. Divide the veggies equally into four and place on the bread.

10. Eat!

Italian Cherry Tomato and Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta Recipe

The Pasta of Everything

Maybe I have been watching too much of Stephen Hawking’s documentary, Into the Universe- The Story of Everything. And maybe just because I just went grocery shopping today and bought all the fresh veggies and so I couldn't resist using them all in my pasta together. Either ways, I’m going to refer to it henceforth as The Pasta of Everything! Did it turn out well? For me, yes!! For you- well, I’ll let you decide… :)

Serves: 2

Prep Time: 45 min

You’ll need:

1 medium sized red onion

3 small cloves of garlic

Colored peppers- red, yellow and green

Kalamata olives

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

1 small tomato

A handful of red teardrop tomatoes

3 spoonfuls of sundried tomato pesto

1 cup mini fusilli pasta

A handful of fresh mint leaves

1 tsp ricotta cheese

1 bay leaf

Seasoning- dried oregano flakes, salt, pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

1    1.       Cook the pasta as per packet instructions. Drain and set aside.
2.       Chop onions into small pieces, and mince the garlic. Separate the rosemary leaves and chop them into small pieces.
3.       Heat 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a pan, and put in the bay leaf. After about 30 seconds, reduce the heat to low and add the fresh rosemary, onions and garlic. Let them cook till they are transluscent, stirring ocassionally. This should take about 7-8 minutes.
4.       While the onions are cooking, chop the colored peppers, about ¼ of each, into small 1” pieces.
5.       Add them to the pan after the onions are done, and let them cook and a couple of minutes, stirring ocassionally.
6.       Chop the tomato into medium sized pieces. Add it to the pan, too.
7.       Halve the kalamata olives and discard the seeds. Also chop the mint leaves.
8.       After the tomatoes and well cooked and blended, add the olives, mint leaves and teardrop tomatoes to the pan. Stir and cook for a minute or so.
9.       Add about 3 tsp sundried tomato pesto and mix well.
10.   Add the pasta, and seasoning to taste. Toss well so the pasta is nicely coated with the sauce.
11.   Remove the bay leaf, and serve. Add the ricotta cheese on top.

Italian Food Week

So, I am in the cab right now, returning home from work. Actually, I took a detour from work and went to the mall near my office to spend a lot of money on a pair of new shoes and a lot of groceries. Luckily, the superstore in the mall had everything I needed and now I have decided to celebrate an Italian food week. Here's what all I bought:

- Focaccia bread- I bought this because I have been missing it since I last had it in an Italian restaurant in Vegas.
- Kalamata olives- These I just love as an accompaniment to wine, or to use in pizza or pasta.
- Teardrop tomatoes- They're so small and cute and round and juicy- it's hard not to love them!
- Fresh rosemary- So fragrant and flavorful and so versatile. It makes every dish better!
- Mini fusilli pasta- Well, I already have a recipe in mind that will make use of these.
- Balsamic vinegar- How can one have Italian Food Week without this!
- Sundried tomato pesto- And this!!
- Ricotta cheese- Well, I am trying to gain weight and I am a sucker for cheeses. Plus I'll use it in my pasta, too!

I am all set to have the perfect Italian Food Week!