Every
time I visit Italy, I fall more in love with the food over there. The freshness of the vegetables, the passion
with which food is prepared and eaten never fails to surprise me. Even simple everyday food seems to be so
special – wonders are created with the humble tomato, some basil and olive oil
and seasonings. Lip smacking pasta is
created with sprinklings of olive oil, pepper and salt.
Bruschetta
consists of toasted bread rubbed with garlic and
topped with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Depending on the region, the toppings could
have fresh tomatoes and basil, salami or mozzarella. I tried to use the bruschetta to make my own
topping – a topping consisting of more veggies and it was an instant hit with
the children and husband. I cooked up
all the vegetables whereas a typical bruschetta consists of mainly uncooked
ingredients. Actually we ended up eating only bruschetta
for dinner even though there was a pot of hot stew ready to be eaten in the
oven.
I
used whatever was available at home to prepare this recipe. I am sure you could substitute it with any
other vegetables or toppings you have available at the time of
preparation. I was able to get some
bruschetta bread from the super market, but it can be substituted with any
bread – the secret is toasting the bread well before adding the topping or you
can end up with some soggy bread that can be inedible.
Preparation
Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1
large yellow onions, finely diced
50
grams unsalted butter
2
green capsicums, finely diced and deseeded
2
ears of corn, cooked and kernels removed from the cob
2
large red tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped
2
tablespoons gherkins, finely chopped
Salt
and Pepper to taste
Pinch
of sugar
Pinch
of nutmeg
6
slices buttered crisp toast or bruschetta
A
few sprigs of coriander to garnish
Sprinkling of olive oil
Method:
- Melt butter in a saucepan.
- Add the onions and cook without coloring for five minutes.
- Season well with salt and pepper according to taste.
- Add the prepared tomatoes and capsicum along with the nutmeg and sugar. Continue cooking over gentle flame until the tomatoes are well-reduced – say about 20 minutes.
- Stir in the corn and let it simmer in the covered saucepan for a further 10 minutes.
- Serve with hot buttered toast or toasted bruschetta and garnish with the coriander leaves and some sprinkling of olive oil.
