Artichoke Bruschetta

I am a big fan of all different varieties of bruschetta. It's a relatively inexpensive, quick and easy appetizer to whip up for company (or a baby shower, as pictured below!) or as a snack for your family. It will even get die hard tomato-haters to give two thumbs up! You can change the flavors around by adding fresh basil, different vegetables or experimenting with cheeses (parmesan versus romano or even asiago). Try refrigerating the leftover tomato mixture and adding it to linguine with a bit of extra cheese~ delicious!



Yields 2 cups of tomato artichoke mixture

Ingredients:

1 good quality French baguette

4 cloves of garlic

4-5 roma tomatoes

4 artichoke hearts

Kosher salt, black pepper

1/8 cup finely diced red onions

2 tbsp. chopped basil (optional)

1/2 cup garlic vinaigrette (search the sidebar for this recipe)

1/4 cup good quality parmesan

Assembly:

Dice the tomatoes and artichoke hearts then combine them with the basil, salt and pepper. Toss with the vinaigrette and refrigerate 30 minutes. Slice the bread on the bias, then brush with olive oil. Bake at 400 degrees for about 6-8 minutes or until golden. Remove and rub a clove of garlic across each slice (the bread will be crispy, so the garlic should melt right into it). Sprinkle the bread with parmesan then top with the tomato-artichoke mixture. Serve immediately.