Roasted Red Pepper Bruschetta and Spinach and Bean Pesto Bruschetta

‘Tis the season for holiday parties and these appetizers are perfect.  You will have everyone at the party devouring them without knowing they are eating “vegan” food.  And they are super easy to make too. Unlike conversation at a party I was at recently.

I was seated at dinner next to a young woman who seemed to be rather shy.  On her other side was her mother, who seemed a bit of an introvert as well.

I started with the usual topics: weather, holidays, food, etc.  It was like carrying bricks uphill.  In the snow.  While wearing roller skates.  I don’t think I’ve worked that hard in a long time.  Questions were met with shy smiles and one word answers.  They actually didn’t really talk to each other either.  Fortunately for me (and unfortunately for them), I could talk to a lamp post.

So I expanded my topics to include neighborhood events( mine, since they lived 3000 miles away), how we were spending the holidays, family stories, nursery rhymes, mother goose stories, Grimm’s fairy tales, the plots of several movies, and a list of favorite songs, books and vacation spots.  It was exhausting (again, more for them than me).

Just as I was about to give up, I finally hit a topic they felt they could expand upon— interesting friends.  Finally, they started trading stories about people they knew.  Victory was mine!  As the conversions started to wind down, I told them about a friend who had gone on a retreat and had to be in silence for three days.

”I could never do that,” I declared.

”No! You couldn’t be silent for three days?  Shocking!” They exclaimed in mock horror.

Well alrighty then.

Ingredients:

• 12 slices of a baguette
• 2 small cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup diced roasted red pepper, packed in oil, drained, not rinsed
• 2 Tablespoons diced red onion
• 2 Tablespoons minced basil
• 2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon sweetener (optional)
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a high speed blender, combine the garlic, oil and salt and process till smooth (you need a smaller blender for this, so if you don’t have one, you can just mince the garlic very small and whisk with the oil and salt or just use garlic oil instead).  Brush on one side of the bread slices and place on a baking sheet under the broiler till golden, about 1 minute, but keep a close eye on it.  Remove from oven, brush the second side with the remaining oil and broil till golden.  Remove from oven and let cool.
2. In a small bowl, combine the peppers, onion and basil.  Add the vinegar, lemon juice and sweetener (if using; I generally don’t use it) and stir well to combine.  Add a small dash of pepper and a pinch of salt if desired.
3. Spoon the topping onto the bread and serve immediately.

Spinach Bean Pesto Bruschetta

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cannellini beans, drained
• 1 small cloves of garlic
• pinch of salt, and dash of pepper
• 1 cup packed baby spinach
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon – 1 Tablespoons olive oil (start small)
• grape tomatoes
• basil (optional)
• 12 baguette slices
• extra olive oil

Directions:

1. Brush the baguette slices with the extra olive oil and broil each side for about a minute until golden.  Keep a close eye on them as they go from golden to burnt in a nanosecond.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.
2. Meanwhile, in a high speed blender, purée the beans, garlic, spinach, lemon juice and olive oil ( start with 1 Tablespoon and gradually add more a little at a time, until the mixture is smooth and creamy but not runny). Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. When the bread is cooled, spread some of the bean and spinach mixture on top of each slice and sprinkle with some chopped tomatoes and minced basil.

Enjoy!