so much roasting. and delicious bruschetta.

i've been backloading recipes for about a week now. just to give you a preview of what's to come: banana cinnamon twist bread, oven roasted brussels sprouts, mediterranean strata, and a banana cake that disappeared within 24 hours of me setting it down on the kitchen counter.

my dear friend lizzy was here to visit last week, and this roasted pepper, tomato, and goat cheese bruschetta was the first dish we tried out. we ended up making it alongside a bunch of other dishes, all of which consisted primarily of roasting. given that neither of us had much experience with this technique - but somehow made the ingenious decision to prepare everything this way - it was an evening of highs ("we know how to roast now!") and lows ("it's buuuurning!"). but ultimately, we emerged victorious and with a sound knowledge of how to roast just about anything.

we strayed a bit from the new york times' recipe for health and sort of miscalculated the appropriate ratio of tomatoes to peppers. translation: we way overdid it on the tomatoes. in retrospect, 8 tomatoes to 2 peppers sounds ludicrous. at the time, we found a way to convince ourselves it was reasonable. reasonable would have been 4 tomatoes to 2 peppers, considering the latter give a bit more of a punch.

but for real: this recipe is easy, pretty, and tasty. we served it as part of a buffet at a big family dinner, but it would also be a great appetizer. next time i make this, i'll either stick with the goat cheese or switch to a crumbled feta.



ingredients:

2 large red peppers, roasted in the oven
4 heirloom tomatoes
coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup parsley
1 to 2 garlic cloves
1 onion
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 baguette
3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

dice peppers and coat in a thin layer of olive oil. roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes, turning them over as necessary. while the pepper are roasting, dice your tomatoes and onion and set aside. remove the peppers and allow them to cool in a bowl. if you want, you can mince one of the garlic cloves and add to the peppers. once peppers have cooled off, combine with tomatoes and onion. stir in your parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

preheat the oven to 350 degrees. toast the bread. spoon on the prepared topping and sprinkle with the goat cheese. serve immediately.