I went to a farmer's market the other day, and I had this random thought to make some interesting bruschetta to have with dinner. We had leftovers of chili and pasta salad in the fridge to eat up, and lots of fresh vegetables to also use in the bruschetta topping.
Huge baskets of fresh jalepenos looked perfect at the market, so that's what I thought I'd use as the main ingredient for the fresh salsa-like topping for the fresh focattia bread I got at the Hearvest Bread Company. I really wanted sourdough, but they didn't have any made that day.
This is not a recipe really, I just chopped everything pretty tiny and threw it in the bowl until I was satisfied with it. I wanted lots of jalepenos, so I used only the outside flesh of the pepper, no ribs or seeds, and it wasn't very spicy. On the last pepper I chopped (I used 5 I think) I did add a little bit of the ribs because it needed a little heat though. Since I had celery and cucumber I threw them in and they added lots of cool crunch. Red onion and grape tomatoes, salt, pepper, a tiny splash of each olive oil and red wine vinegar, and done! If I had herbs like basil, cilantro, or mint, I would have thrown some in - dang I do have a mint plant on my porch but I totally forgot about it! Oh well, my point is use whatever you have... or think you have. Chop it fine or use the food processor and add ingredients until you like the balance of tastes. Tomatoes are the classic ingredient. I wouldn't put those in the processor, but if you use them, leave in all the juices and everything. If you think it needs a little perk up, throw in the olive oil, your favorite vinegar, lemon or lime juice and it will make a world of difference. Don't top the bread ahead of time if you're serving people, but when you spoon it on the bread do get the juices onto the bread because it's yummy!
Cut the bread in slices, toast, and then rub with a cut piece of garlic and drizzle olive oil, salt, and pepper on top. That is bruschetta. It's great with many types of bread; focaccia would never be my first choice, but it was good, this one had stuff like fennel seeds baked in. Whatever topping you like - could be simply chopped tomatoes in a dressing, is a bonus! If you make this, leave a comment and let me know what you used!
