Special Tomato Vegetarian Bruschetta Recipe
To get that authentic Mediterranean flavour, use balsamic vinegar instead of lemon juice. And remember to use the freshest, ripest tomatoes you can find!
Ingredients
• 4 muffins
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp chopped basil
• 4 large tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 8 black olives, pitted and halved
• 1¾ ounce mozzarella cheese, sliced
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp clear honey
• Basil leaves, to garnish
1. Place muffins onto a cutting board and using a sharp knife, slice each muffin in half. Transfer muffin halves into a toaster or oven and toast until they turn crisp and golden.
2. Preheat oven to 300°F. Place butter, garlic and chopped basil into a small mixing bowl and using a small spoon, stir until well combined. Once all muffins are toasted, spoon garlic mixture of each muffin half.
3. Pour boiling water into a large bowl. Using a sharp knife, slice a small cross shape at the bottom of each tomato and then place into the bowl of boiling water. After the tomatoes begin to soften, which shouldn’t take longer than a couple minutes, remove tomatoes, one at a time from the boiling water using a fork. Using your fingers, peel away the flesh from the tomatoes.
4. Once all flesh is removed, chop tomatoes into small dice. Pour diced tomatoes, tomato paste and sliced olives into a mixing bowl and blend together. Spoon onto the muffins.
5. In a separate small bowl, mix together olive oil, lemon juice and honey. Using a spoon, drizzle mixture over tomato covered muffins and lightly place mozzarella slices on top. Sprinkle on salt and pepper.
6. Place muffins onto 1 large or 2 medium sized baking sheets and place into the preheated oven. Bake until cheese melts, about 1½ to 2 minutes.
7. Transfer ready muffins onto a platter or tray and garnish with fresh basil leaves. Serve immediately.
Serves 4
Mouth Watering Spring Rolls
Stored in the fridge in an airtight container they will keep for up to 2-3 days.
Ingredients
To make the spring rolls
• ¾ cup broken rice vermicelli noodles
• 6 fresh shiitake mushrooms
• ½ cup carrots, slivered
• 1 cup bok choy, thinly sliced
• 1 cup green onion, slivered
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp chopped fresh ginger
• Eight 8-inch square spring roll skins
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup water
• 4 cups vegetable oil
To make the salad
• 1 cup daikon radish, slivered
• 1 cup carrots, slivered
• 4 green onions, slivered
• ½ cup red onion, slivered
• 1 cup slivered cucumber, juice squeezed out
To make the dressing
• 2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tsp sesame oil
1. Place noodles and mushrooms into individual bowls and cover with hot water. Cover bowls and set aside for 20 minutes. Once noodles and mushrooms have properly soaked transfer noodles into a colander and drain properly; transfer into a large bowl. Drain mushrooms as well and transfer onto a cutting board. Remove and discard stems and slice mushroom heads thinly. Add into large bowl with noodles.
2. Add carrots, bok choy, green onion and coriander onto the bowl of noodles and mushrooms and mix together. Sprinkle in salt and pepper, to taste, and toss mixture to combine. Cover and set aside.
3. Pour soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and fresh ginger into a small bowl. Using a spoon, stir the mixture until well combined. Cover and set aside.
4. Gently pull spring roll skins apart and place them onto a flat clean surface (that is preferably glass so they won’t stick). Using a small spoon, place ¼ cup of the noodle and vegetable mixture onto the upper third part of each spring roll skin. Roll once and then take the 2 ends and fold them in and continue to roll the skins forward until it forms a cylinder. Whisk together flour and water in a bowl until well combined. Using a small pastry brush, coat spring roll with just enough of the flour/water mixture to seal the edges. Repeat until done with all the spring rolls.
5. In a large wok, heat some of the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Once wok and oil are very hot add spring rolls in 3 at a time and fry until they turn golden brown which shouldn’t take longer than 2 minutes. Transfer rolls onto a rack with paper towel to drain. Repeat with the rest of the batch.
6. To make the salad, place radish, carrot, green and red onions and cucumber into a bowl and toss together until well combined. In a separate bowl pour in rice vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil; whisk together until well mixed. Drizzle sauce mixture over vegetables and toss together until all vegetables are lightly coated.
7. Once spring rolls are properly drained, place onto a cutting board and slice each spring roll in half on an angle. Place 3 halves onto individual serving plates, standing up so that their cut ends are facing up. Served garnished by arranging salad around the rolls; serve at once.
Makes 8 rolls but serves 5 if you serve 1½ pieces to each person.
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