Bruschetta is an easy-to-make vegetarian appetizer.
Appetizers certainly don't have to involve meat to be sophisticated and exciting. There's such a wide variety of vegetarian appetizer recipes to choose from, you may have a difficult time making up your mind. Some vegetarian appetizers are fairly quick and easy to prepare; many require little to no cooking time. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Tomato and Basil Bruschetta
Tomato and fresh basil bruschetta is simple and fresh-tasting. Slice a French baguette into rounds and toast them lightly. Dice a few Roma tomatoes--how many you use depends on how many you're feeding--and set them aside. Prepare the basil by removing the leaves and chopping them. Mix the basil with the diced tomatoes. Once your toast rounds are ready, lightly brush them with a bit of olive oil, then top them with your tomato-basil mixture. You may leave them as is, or you can top them with some grated mozzarella and broil for five minutes.
Baked Brie with Raspberry Jam and Walnuts
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray it with non-stick spray or brush it with a little oil. Lay a sheet of frozen puff pastry (thawed) on the prepared sheet of aluminum and place a wheel of brie in the center. Top the brie with raspberry jam and chopped walnuts. Bring the corners of the puff pastry up and seal the edges. Bake it for 20 minutes. This baked brie should be served warm and goes well with toasted baguette, your favorite crackers or even apple slices.
Hummus and Pita Toast
Hummus is a flavorful, middle-eastern vegan dip. You'll need 2 cups of chickpeas; reserve 2 tbsp. of the liquid. Place the chickpeas in a food processor with 1/3 cup tahini, or sesame paste, the juice of two lemons, 2 to 4 garlic cloves and the chickpea liquid. Add salt and pepper to taste. Process all the ingredients until smooth. For a richer hummus, you can add 3 to 4 tbsp. of olive oil. Hummus is great served with toasted pita bread and olives.
Walnut, Gorgonzola and Arugula Crostini
Crostini means "little toasts" in Italian. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Slice a baguette into 1/2-inch rounds, spread butter over one side and toast them, butter side up, until golden brown. Finely chop enough arugula to equal 3 tbsp. Then, lightly mix it with 3 ounces of gorgonzola and 6 tbsp. of toasted, chopped walnuts. Place this mixture on top of your crostini and put it in a 350-degree oven, just until the cheese melts. Once the cheese is melted, the crostini are ready to serve. If gorgonzola is difficult to find, you can use blue cheese as a substitute.
Tags: , , chopped walnuts, , Preheat your