Tomato-Mint Bruschetta

We had decided to have 'Soup-Only' days at least twice a week this winter. But somehow it was just so BLAH! We could never manage to stick to it.
So we decided to have soup along with some healthy appetizers!
Healthy appetizer had to be fun as well as filling and of course something roasted or baked.

Bruschetta was something that immediately came to mind.
Bruschetta can be made with all kinds of toppings. But I generally end up making them with these two topping.
One with tomatoes, which I have shared with you in this post and one with guacamole, which will be shared soon.

Bruschetta pronounced as "Brus-ketta" is an appetizer from Central Italy. So you can always give it a pretty touch by topping it with mozarella, but I dint! It would just take away from our healthy and so called light soup days regimen!

Hope you enjoy making these.

Level: Easy
Serves: 5-6 people

Ingredients:
1 loaf of any rustic loaf of bread
4 medium tomatoes
10 - 12 mint leaves, torn into pieces
8 garlic cloves - 4 finely chopped, 4 grated
1 tsp red chilly flakes
1 tsp crushed black pepper
1/2 tsp oregano, or any other dry Italian herb
4 tblsp butter, we had I Can't Believe It's not Butter

Method:
Step 1 - Lets get the tomatoes ready. Slice the tomato into halves. With a spoon, scoop out the seeds and all the liquid around them. Discard this. Chop the tomatoes into tiny pieces. Keep aside.

Step 2 - Preheat oven to 400 Deg F. In a bowl, add the tomatoes from step 1, add the chopped garlic, red chilly flakes, crushed black pepper, oregano and mint. Mix well. Keep aside.

Step 3 - Beat the butter with the back of a teaspoon and add the grated garlic. Mix well together. Keep aside.

Step 4 - Slice the loaf of bread into slices with medium thickness. Bake them in the oven for 10 mins till they are evenly brown.

Step 5 - Smear the bread with the garlic butter from step 3. Scoop out some tomato mixture from step 2 and put it over the toast.

Serve!

Can't get simpler, can it?


Tips:
If you are making Bruschettas for a party and they need not be too healthy,
You can add 1.5 tblsp of extra-virgin olive oil to the tomato mixture. This gives it a lovely richness!
You can top this bread with some shredded cheese, just before you serve.

You can get all the ingredients ready before a party, but do not assemble it till you are ready to serve and eat. You might get the bread all soggy!

Originally Bruschettas are made with tomato and basil. But I prefer them with mint. It just makes it even more zinggy! if thats a word. But you can always substitute mint with Italian basil for that original touch.