Olive and Goat Cheese Bruschetta

Ontario is in the grips of an intense heat wave and my kitchen has adapted accordingly. Salads and quick and easy meals are on the menu for the next little while. But this does not mean that one has to sacrifice taste, as I proved last night. As always, I welcome requests for dishes, and recently Leslie took me up on that offer by requesting a recipe for Bruschetta bread. I don't recall if I have made bruschetta before, but I wasn't satisfied with the recipes I found, so I created my own version. Just one slice makes for a satisfying summer meal.

Olive and Goat Cheese Bruschetta

8 thick slices of Italian bread
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 clove of garlic, crushed
juice from one small lemon
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 - 2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
4 - 5 mushrooms, roughly chopped
2/3 cups of olives, pitted and chopped
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
113 grams of goats cheese
2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh basil, finely chopped
sea salt and cracked black pepper

Heat a teaspoon of the oil in a frying pan over medium to high heat. When hot, add the shallots and stir and fry for a few minutes. Then add the jalapeno peppers, lemon juice and mushrooms. Fry for a few minutes, or just until the mushrooms begin to release their juices. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a mortar and pestle, make a paste of the olive oil and garlic.

Toast the bread under the broiler until golden. When the bread is ready, brush each slice with the garlic and olive oil mixture. Next spread each slice with some goats cheese. Then top with the mushroom mixture, olives and chopped tomato. Finish off by sprinkling each slice with the fresh herbs and a little more black pepper.