photo by Helen Geisler
At one point, I can’t remember exactly when it was, sometime in the early nineties, America got swamped with bruschetta. Some of it was delicious. I remember one restaurant in Santa Monica Canyon called Caffe Delfini, I think it is still there, that made what I considered to be the quintessential bruschetta. Grilled Italian farm style bread with diced fresh tomato, no seeds, basil, garlic, olive oil and sea salt. My God it was, and still is delicious. I stole their recipe, they actually gave it to me, and took it to Virginia when I moved there to help some friends open a restaurant. People still remember it. Then there were the other bruschettas. In that era it seemed you could find a version in just about every restaurant including the hapless and slovenly chains such as the Olive Garden, amongst others. Trips to those places only happened when I got lazy travelling or just plain weird when I wanted to experience the hollow blandness of mainstream American corporate culture. I am, after all, an anthropologist, self-proclaimed. I study people and what they eat. You could find all manner of low budget ingredients in these forlorn bruschettas, cheap Sysco canola oil, peeled and bagged garlic or worse, dire mozzarella cheese, strange packet seasonings, canned tomatoes, whatever, you name it and you could find someone making it into bruschetta. Ninety percent of the time, maybe more, it marred the name!
Fast forward to 2012, although I am now writing in 2013, lord have mercy on our souls! I rarely see bruschetta anywhere. Granted I don’t go out to eat as much as I used to due to my snobby taste buds and desire for high quality ingredients. Those two factors, amongst others, keep me out of most places these days. This past September, I am nearly certain it was September, it is a lovely month here in the Blue Ridge Mountains and generally everywhere, I was out meandering in the woods like I like to do. As happens almost every time I go out, I stumbled across a nice bloom of Oyster mushrooms. They have been, and usually are, prolific in these deciduous woodlands. I have found some every month since then and it is now February. Anyway, I gathered them and thanked the powers that be for the treat. Later that evening as I was wondering what to prepare for my family and bruschetta came to mind. I thought of all the quirky and offbeat bruschettas I had seen in my blessed life and decided to invent my own version. To this point I don’t think I had ever strayed from my highly successful classic recipe. I had some left over baguettes from the restaurant I work in, Bizou. I had arugula, some parmesan cheese, I had garlic, olive oil, sea salt and lemon, if I recall correctly. I then cut the oyster mushrooms into manageable pieces, see photo, put some oil in a pan and sauteed them with a little bit of garlic. When they were finished I cut the baguettes, lightly oiled them and then grilled them. As that was occurring I mixed the mushrooms and garlic with arugula, a bit more olive oil, a dash of sea salt and a light squeeze of fresh organic lemon. I did not want this to be too wet, so if you try it go easy on the squeezing and the oiling. We want the flavor to be there but also the texture and moistness to be right. I also went easy on the garlic and did not overcook it. When the bread was ready, which doesn’t take long, I put it on a plate and then placed my mixture upon it. My final step was to shave some good quality parmesan on to it. I did refrain from adding any other herbs, though they could be added. My reasoning behind this was that the powerful flavor of the arugula would most likely be interesting and delicious enough. I am quite sure I was right. You decide. If you get the chance try it out, I really enjoyed it and so did everyone else who was there! We’ve made it a few times since! It pairs well with a nice montepulciano, which can be found cheap and they are delicious. It would also be good with a white wine we have been serving lately at Bizou, it is a Frecciarossa Sillery pinot noir blanc. Or, drink whatever the hell you want with it. It is a great spin-off on all the cheesy interpretations of bruschetta and will stand up to even the cattiest of foodies! I will certainly be making it again! Enjoy!
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