FNCCC #22 - Jamie Oliver

What fun it was to look through the recipes of this weeks FNCCC chef, Jaime Oliver. It felt a little foreign. There were several ingredients I am not familiar with (rocket). The lingo was a bit bazaar at times (pip, glug!). I enjoyed it!

I loved the simplicity of the recipe I chose, a bruscetta. I used the same ingredients that he did...just made big adjustments to the preparation. Unfortunately nothing was squashed or smashed but I believe the flavors would have been the same The baby ate it and even my olive hating husband enjoyed it (I did not point out that it had olives, hence, the fine chopping)

Squashed Cherry Tomato and Smashed Olive Bruscetta
Recipe courtesy Jamie Oliver

Ingredients
2 handfuls cherry tomatoes (had to use diced roma tomatoes, while squashing them sounds fun, they were too expensive)
1 handful black olives (used finely chopped black olives - trying to camouflage them)
4 to 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
A drizzle herb vinegar
1 dried chile (didn't use because I wanted everyone to eat it)
A handful fresh basil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 ciabatta or other rustic bread, cut into thick slices (I used a whole wheat french bread)
1/2 clove garlic
4 boccacini (this is mozzarella cheese)
Parmesan, for shaving

Directions
This is probably the quickest salad or bruschetta I make, but no less tasty for that. Very few ingredients, simple flavors, complete sense. Try to make use of the wider range of cherry tomatoes available now: yellow, tige, and plum cherry tomatoes for instance. And, as I always say, it's much better, taste-wise, to buy olives with their stones still in than without. Trust me.
Simply squash your tomatoes into a bowl. I always have to put one hand over the tomatoes as I do this as juice and pips go everywhere (generally on me). You can be as rough with the tomatoes as you like, as the salad looks much better rough and rustic than perfect and pretty. Then, gently smash the olives on a board with a hard object, like a cup or a rolling-pin. Remove the stones, throw the olives in with the tomatoes, and toss together. Add a few glugs of oil, the oregano, a drizzle of vinegar, crumbled chile, and rip in the basil. Season, to taste, and that's your salad.

Griddle or toast the slices of bread and rub with the garlic clove, pile on the tomatoes, and rip the mozzarella and lay over the top drizzle with a little bit more oil and finish with shaves of Parmesan.

Can't wait to see what you are cooking! Did you find looking at the recipes as fun as I did? Link your post below. HERE is the list of upcoming chefs if you want to plan ahead.