Bruschetta in a Bowl

What do you do when you are too lazy to slice and toast the bread for Bruschetta? Toss it in with the rest of the ingredients, warm it in the oven and Voila! Less messy for the kids, too!



While this version has quite a few ingredients (I was trying to use up little bits of everything I had in my fridge/pantry!), it can be as simple or varied as you like. Even just tomatoes and basil work, and I also recently saw a recipe for roasted beet bruschetta. Of course you can still serve this the traditional way as well, spooned onto sliced, toasted bread.

• 1 eggplant, diced
• 2 tomatoes, diced (or 1/2 can)
• 1 Tbs capers
• 1 leek (white part), sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup fava beans
• 1/2 cup mixed olives
• 1 Tbs sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2-3 slices crusty stale bread, broken into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup cubed mozzarella cheese

Combine all ingredients except bread and cheese in oven-proof dish. Bake at 450 degrees F for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is soft. Toss in bread and cheese and return to oven for 5-10 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melty.