Deriving from Italy, Bruschetta in its original form favours a tomato salad. (Oh and before you close this page or click on another tab you should know that this recipe is anything but difficult. Don’t worry, it’s just lightly toasted bread with a salad on top and NO! It’s not boring!) But if you have guests over and you’re in need of a quick snack, just rummage around your fridge and use whatever you have, it’s a fabulously flexible recipe.

Simple yet so delicious, you can eat it for breakfast or serve it as an appetiser or even eat it as light dinner. Nevertheless it tantalises your buds.

Ingredients

1 French loaf
2 tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
1 - 2 cloves of garlic
30 - 40 g of parsley
3 slices of chicken ham
3 cheese (single) slices
Butter
Balsamic vinegar
Oregano
Pepper
Salt

Directions

Preheat the oven at 200 Celsius. Prepare a baking sheet and set aside.

Wash and fine dice the bell pepper, tomato, parsley, garlic and place in a heavy based bowl.

Add 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, a teaspoon of oregano, pepper and half a teas spoon of salt to the diced foodstuff and give it a good mix.

While the salad is resting, slice your baguette diagonally and coat both sides with butter.

Place the buttered bread on the prepared sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

While your bread is baking slice your chicken ham and cheese in to small squares (or tear with your hands).

Once the bread has baked, take it out of the oven and while its warm place the cheese squares on it.

Then add the chicken ham and tomato salad.

Serve while it’s warm.

Disasters, Warnings and Tips

When I first made these, I the wise one baked it with slice of cheese on it first, it puffed up. Edible but a little odd looking.

Serve this with some boiled eggs. SO GOOD!

To curb the tanginess of the tomato salad, add a tablespoon of olive oil, to the salad dressing.

Use condiments according to personal taste.

Rachel Khoo’s latest series Kitchen Notebook looks a little forced. Slightly disappointing.

Our local baguette makes a Bruschetta look like Crostini.

Inspired by Rachel Khoo, I bought a gorgeous pink lipstick! Looks a little 80’s on me though...

Add a little cheese spread on top of your Bruschetta.

I learnt a new word last week - ‘Gastrosexual’

This is my version of a Bruschetta, feel free to go crazy on yours.

By Shazzana Hamid