And there you have it, Spain on toast.
There’s a lot going on here, I’ll grant you that, but each element serves a purpose; the tomatoes, although they’re slow roast still retain their juices and act as lubrication, the chorizo crumb provides texture as do the red peppers albeit at the other end of the scale, and the chickpea mash holds the whole thing together.
The chickpea mash is just a rustic version of hummus; I prefer its coarser texture for this recipe as it keeps its shape better in the oven as the bruschetta reheats. The quantities given here will make more than you need, but it’s hardly a hardship having home-made hummus leftover in the fridge, and besides my food processor isn’t much cop for small quantities.
I skin my red peppers by shovelling them into a freezer bag as soon as they come out of the oven and leaving them to steam and go cold in the bag; the end result is soft, sweet and smoky. Any peeling issues can be avoided by seasoning the skins well in the first place, both with olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper, and also removing the stalk, seeds and pith before you begin. Again, having extra of these hanging around in the fridge will pay dividends come Thursday night when there’s nothing in the house bar a bag of pasta and half a bulb of what used to be garlic.
The chorizo crumb is also a concept worth adding to your repertoire, and one that could very well be applied elsewhere. It is nothing more than cooked chorizo whizzed up in the food processor.
Ingredients
(serves 6)
6 x slices rustic/artisan ciabatta
3 x red peppers
3 x bog standard tomatoes
2 x 400g tins chickpeas
1 x clove of garlic
1 x tablespoon tahini
3x x tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3x tablespoons lemon juice
1 x 175g pack cooking chorizo
The hummus, tomatoes, pepper and chorizo can all be made a couple of days in advance, needing only to griddle the ciabatta on the day.
Preheat the oven to 190 ⁰C.
Cut the pepper in half from top to bottom. Remove the stalk, seeds and any excess pithy bits. Massage olive oil onto the skin of each pepper and season generously with salt and pepper. Place them in a roasting tin (cut side down) and place on the top shelf of the oven for 25 – 30 mins or until the skins are beginning to blacken and wrinkle.
Remove them from the tin with a fish slice or something similar and place in a freezer bag, tying a knot in the bag to seal in the steam. Alternatively cover them in a bowl with cling film. Peel the skins off one cooled and tear each half into 3 or 4 strips. Set to once side.
Turn down the oven to 120 ⁰C.
Cut the tomatoes in half through the stalk, and cut each half into 3 segments. Place on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Leave them to roast slowly in the oven for an hour or more, until wrinkled and shrunken.
To make the hummus, add the chick peas, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, tahini and garlic (crushed) to the food processor. Pulse together briefly to retain a coarse texture then scrape into a bowl and check for seasoning.
Remove the skin from the chorizo and break into small chunks; fry over a medium heat until they release their oils and begin to take a little colour. Drain briefly then blitz in the food processor until you have small crumbs.
Heat the griddle pan until scorching hot. Brush both sides of the bread with a little olive oil, then griddle briefly until sufficiently charred on each side.
To serve the bruschetta hot, preheat the oven to 180 ⁰C. Pile a couple of teaspoons of hummus onto each slice of bread, top with a few pieces of tomato, a few strips of pepper and sprinkle on the chorizo and drizzle with a little olive oil. Place in the oven for 6 or 7 minutes.