By Dev, CN Manager
It's that time of year! Holiday parties and gatherings are popping up everywhere, much like endless lights and decorations over the past few weeks. It can be a struggle to find the time for any kind of significant meal or appetizer prepping among the festive zaniness pulling so many of us in multiple directions. With all of that in mind, I was struggling to think of a party dish that's not too time intensive, but will still add visual flair to a host's table... Inspiration struck when I was helping stock our selection of tinned fish and seafood; what about a tasty bruschetta with mussels...?!
These little guys are versatile and satisfying any time of year, and are a low-stress way to add a fresh, flavorful splash of color to holiday party menus. I prepped two varieties for a lovely green and red color scheme and different flavor profiles for each.
Ingredients from the outside world:
Fresh garlic (3 cloves, minced)
Heirloom cherry tomatoes (~ 12oz, sliced)
Fresh dill (a few leaves, diced)
Cucumber (1/2 of a standard American cucumber, diced)
Fresh rosemary (a few leaves)
Lemon (for just a bit of juice)
Crusty Italian bread or French baguette (~2 feet in length)
Ingredients from our shelves:
Preparation:
Slice heirloom cherry tomatoes into halves (or quarters), and sort into two different, lidded containers by color. For this recipe, I grouped red and brown heirloom tomatoes together in one container, and yellow and orange tomatoes together in another.
Slice kalamata olives into halves, and mix into the red tomato container. Also add a drizzle of olive oil, a few rosemary leaves, and a handful of crumbled feta cheese into the container. Sprinkle with sea salt, and let the mixture of red/brown tomatoes, olives, rosemary, and feta marinate in the fridge so all the flavors blend together well.
Now for the yellow / orange tomato mixture! In their own container, also throw in a handful of finely sliced fresh dill, a handful of diced cucumbers, and crumbled feta. Sprinkle with lemon juice and a dash of sea salt, and put aside in the fridge for marination as well.
The above steps can also be done overnight, or an hour or two ahead of the gathering itself. The bread baking and assembly are fast and can be done directly before the event! When the time comes...
Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Slice the loaf of bread or baguette into small rounds, about 1/2 inch thick each, and line them on a baking tray. While the oven is preheating, add a splash of olive oil to a non-stick pan, and lightly cook minced garlic until it's fragrant and starting to turn golden brown. Then, glaze the mixture of garlic and oil onto every round of bread, and pop the whole tray of bread into the oven to bake for ~15 minutes when the oven's fully heated.
Once the bread is crispy and golden, it's ready to go! I paired my olive-red/brown tomato-rosemary-feta mixture with Patagonia's smoked mussels; simply spoon a couple of mussels directly from their tin onto the warm bread, and then add the red tomato mix on top. For my dill-cucumber-yellow/orange tomato-feta mix, I chose to pair Island Creek Oyster Co.'s mussels in pickled sauce. Same process follows; the pickled sauce oysters are topped with the yellow tomato mix. Once everything is assembled, double back and add a light drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil over each bruschetta slice. I also added a dusting of ground rainbow peppercorns to my own, as well, which can be done to taste.
And that's it! Arrange on a serving platter and watch them fly. This particular recipe made around 18 bruschetta pieces, but it can be adjusted as needed to make more for a larger gathering. The contrast of smoky, deep, rich flavors with bright, tart, and sour flavors is sure to be a stand-out entry at any party in the near future, including the looming New Year's Eve!