Crostini with Cherry Tomatoes & Mozzarella

I recently joined International Food Challenge group organized by Saras & Shobana. The idea behind the group is to explore the cuisine around the world. This group started last year and last month was the first anniversary of the event. Since it was the anniversary month, the challenge for August was to cook one recipe from the selected 12 recipes from previous months. I picked crostini with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella suggested by Priya.

This is a quick and easy Italian appetizer though it was my dinner that night. This is a flexible recipe and all the ingredients can be adjusted to one's taste. I used fresh mozzarella but one can even use grated mozzarella.

Source: Priya
Total Time: 20 - 25 minutes
Preparation: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 10 – 15 minutes
Yields: 5

Ingredients:

• ¼ Mini French Baguette or French Bread sliced into ½” thick slices (5 slices)
• 1 tbsp. Butter melted
• ½ - 1 tsp. minced Garlic
• 2 – 3 bite size Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (can use regular size mozzarella)
• 3-4 Cherry or Grape Tomatoes sliced
• Few Basil Leaves chopped (I used parsley but would recommend basil)
• Some Salt & Pepper Powder

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Slice baguette into ½” slices.
• Mix melted butter with garlic; apply it to bread slices on both sides and place on a baking sheet.
• Place a slice of mozzarella on each bread slice. Since I used bite size mozzarella, I placed 3-4 slices.
• Place 3-4 slices of tomatoes on the cheese.
• Sprinkle some black pepper powder, dash of salt, basil or parsley on the top of each bread slice.
• Bake for 10 – 15 minutes at 350F in a preheated oven. Bake until cheese is melted and it took about 9 -10 minutes in my oven.

Suggestions:

• I followed the recipe as given and used butter. I would like to try it with olive oil next time.
• I like garlic and used 1 tsp. but one can adjust it to once preference.
• This recipe is so flexible that one can add as much cheese as one prefers, little less or more depending on one’s taste.