Ceci Bruschetta

I have a small confession to make. I have never eaten at Babbo. 

There I said it.

It's like number one on my bucket list, though. 

I have, however, eaten at Mario's B&B Ristorante in Las Vegas. Its menu is very similar to Babbo. They share quite a few dishes, although B&B is geared more towards the Vegas palate and pace.  

I remember the experience as if it were yesterday, even though it has been probably close to 8 years since my meal there. It was a Wednesday night. Even though I made reservations a month in advance, there were plenty of open seats, something you would never see in NYC.  I smiled through the entire plate of Gnocchi with Oxtail Ragu, swirled my perfectly paired wine, and finished it all off with a smooth panna cotta. But before it all started, the waiter brought out a little something to tease my appetite, and as I reminisced about that meal, I thought it would be great for my next post. 

Bruschetta comes from the Italian word bruscare', which means to cook over open coals. It is basically just some good quality sliced crusty peasant bread, grilled or slightly charred, with a topping on it. It makes for perfect passed hors d'oeuvres, or a light starter. In fact, Mario writes that there are restaurants in Italy that treat bruschetta as the main event, with toppings that rival most pizzerias. Sign me up for that!

The Babbo Cookbook has three bruschetta recipes, all variations on a theme, all really simple.  

This recipe calls for black olive paste. You can easily find it on Amazon.com, but I decided to make my own. It's really easy to make and there are plenty of decent recipes online, just make sure that you get good quality olives. My recipe called for pureeing black olives with olive oil and a touch of vinegar. 

The olive paste gets added to a bowl with cooked ceci beans (garbanzo), olive oil, balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes, fresh rosemary and basil, garlic, and some salt and pepper. Give it a quick mix and there you go. 

Next, I sliced some good crusty bread, and drizzled some olive oil over the slices. I then took a clove of garlic and rubbed it over each slice. I put them in the oven and toasted until crisp. A grill would work just as well for this step too. 

The ceci bean mixture gets spooned on the bread and served. 

It tasted just as good as I remember and is really easy to make. This is the first plate that is given to you at Babbo and this is my first post as a married man. Our wedding was magical and everything that I hoped it would be. Married life suits me well. Perhaps I can score a reservation for our anniversary. 

My next post will be another one of the bruschetta recipes. We recently had my parents over for dinner and as you can see from the pictures, I offered a couple of these gems as an appetizer. They were quickly scoffed up. 

Until next time...