Cheese and Veggie Bruschetta

Vegetable and Cheese Bruschetta

Here’s a winner.  It doesn’t have a name as of yet, but “cheese and veggies on toast” seems fairly accurate, although less than eloquent.  Got a better name for it?  Drop it in the comments.  The idea for this recipe came from a close family friend who, along with her husband, deserves to have a restaurant of her own.  She doesn’t use cheese or bread, but instead uses the veggie mixture as a simple hot dish or cold on top of salads.  We made some modifications and love our new recipe, but feel free to experiment on your own.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 can of garbanzo beans
• 1 large stalk of celery
• 1 large carrot, or roughly a half a cup of baby carrots
• 1 medium onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• Olive oil
• 3/4 cup of shredded cheese (colby jack works great, but so does cheddar, or whatever else you have around)
• 1 loaf of French or Cuban bread
• Butter for the bread
• One pan
• One cookie sheet

Here’s what to do:

Step 1) Cut the bread into rounds 3/4 inch thick, or cut the loaf lengthwise like a hot dog bun and then into six inch chunks (see pictures).  Butter them and set aside on a cookie sheet.

Step 2) Cut the celery, carrot, and onion into small pieces (about the size of M&Ms, more or less).  Mince the garlic (cut into tiny pieces).

Prepping Veggies

Step 3) Generously oil your pan on medium heat, and toss in the onions and garlic.  When the onions just begin to carmelize and the garlic gets fragrant, toss in the carrots and celery.  Toss your veggie mixture every 30 seconds or so to make sure nothing burns.  The goal here is to get the carrots and celery to soften up a little, but not get mushy.

Step 4) When the carrots and celery have soften a bit, throw in a drained can of garbanzo beans (not the can, just the beans).  You’ll probably need to add a bit more olive oil at this point too.  Keep the veggies moving so the ones on bottom don’t burn.

Step 5) After about 3 or 4 minutes with the beans in the pan, turn the heat to low and mix in 3/4 cup of shredded cheese.  Keep stirring until the veggies and cheese combined to form a sort of cheesy goop.  At this point, you’re mouth should be watering.

Step 6) Around the same time you put the cheese into the pan, place the cookie sheet of bread under the broiler.  Keep an eye on it, though, it should only take a few minutes for the bread to toast.

Step 7) Remove the bread and place on serving plates, then generously scoop the cheesey veggie goop right on top of the bread and serve with a fork and knife.  I know this whole recipe sounds weird, but trust, it’s good.

Step 8 ) Eat (also turn the broiler off).

Simple veggie recipe, ready to eat

Now that the recipe is out of the way, let me share a life lesson.  Yesterday, we made a great lunch (I won’t tell you what it is, cause it’ll be on here eventually).  We cooked, carefully plated the creation, took a bunch of great pictures of the food and then sat down to write up a post.  Unfortunately, when I went to transfer the pictures from camera to computer, I realized I never put the memory card back in the camera.  No pics.  Talk about a bummer.  So, for all you aspiring food bloggers out there: double check your memory cards or your meals will be just that – memories.

Anyways, have a great Sunday and keep cooking.