Roasted Beet and Parmigiano Bruschetta

A while back in a previous post you'll remember that I saved one of the three bruschetta recipes, the subject of this post, for a later date. It being Midsummer, it seemed appropriate for the time to utilize fresh tomatoes for one bruschetta, and using the Ceci beans for the other bruschetta also reminded me of the bean salads that my mom used to make for summer cook-outs and picnics. So I completed those two recipes together, saving the very first food recipe of The Babbo Cookbook until a time in the fall when the best beets are in bloom. 

My goal was also to utilize some of the fresh beets for this recipe that I grew in my garden. Those beets never actually grew in my garden, along with many other vegetables that were a no-show, so it was back into the car to take a trip to my local Whole Foods. 

I knew I was in good hands after checking around the market and seeing what beautiful produce they had. As it has been written in the book and brought up by yours truly many times in this blog, when you have a recipe that only calls for a few ingredients, each one of those ingredients needs to be top notch. I chose a few beets with the greens removed simply because I didn't really have any other uses for them in the near future. It is worth mentioning that I so wish I had some other use for the greens because those looked beautiful as well. 

This is another quick and simple recipe, so don't blink or you may just miss the whole thing. I start by preheating the oven to 400°. I then take the beets, wrap them in aluminum foil, and roast them in the oven for the better part of an hour or until they're easily pierced with a knife. Once they are fully cooked, they need to be set aside to cool completely. 

From there, I get my broiler preheated to toast the bread. 

While that's heating, I dice the beets into quarter inch cubes and combine them with balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, caraway seeds, chives, and I season with salt and pepper. 

Once the bread is thoroughly toasted, I portion the beet mixture on top of the bread. I then grate a little bit of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over each piece of bruschetta. Done!

I hope you can see how simple it is to make delicious bruschetta at home. These make a wonderful, simple no-brainer hors d'oeuvre for a dinner party or gathering, that don't require tons of work but are guaranteed to impress. Or you can do as I did in the picture above and dress some greens with olive oil and lemon juice to make a simple salad to accompany them, turning the dish into a light meal.

I didn't hate this recipe as much as I thought I would. Beets aren't that high up on my vegetable appreciation list, but I liked it and would make it again. 

Next up is another appetizer course featuring a fish that's a New England staple; cod. Until next time...