Bruschetta w/ Balsamic Quinoa & Fresh Mozzarella
For a fun twist on an Italian favorite, I've thrown together quinoa bruschetta with brussel sprouts, quinoa, roasted garlic, carrots, shallots, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella. It's not exactly the most traditional of bruschetta recipes out there. But it utilizes everything that I have in my refrigerator and is absolutely delicious! Which is, after all, all that really matters.
Equipment
- Air Fryer (or Oven)
- Skillet (preferably cast iron)
- Stovetop
Ingredients
No-knead Dutch Oven Bread
- 472 ml. warm water ~100°F (2 c.)
- 2 ¼ tsp. instant yeast (1 package)
- 2 tsp. brown sugar (or granulated sugar, maple syrup, or honey)
- 570 g. all-purpose flour (4 ¾ c.)
- 2 tsp. salt
- oil to grease bowl
Quinoa w/ Balsamic, Carrots, & Brussel Sprouts
- 12 Brussel sprouts quartered
- 2 carrots diced
- 1/2 shallot minced
- 4 cloves roasted garlic (or 2 cloves unroasted garlic)
- 1/3 c. balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 c. white quinoa
- 3 c. water
- 8 oz. tofu (1/2 package)
- 1 tbsp. high heat oil
- 1 tomato diced
- dash salt
- dash pepper
Bruschetta
- 1 large slice bread
- 1/3 c. balsamic, carrot, & brussel sprout quinoa
- dollop olive oil
- 4 slices tomato
- 4 slices fresh mozzarella
Instructions
Prepare Ingredients
- I made bread, quinoa, and bruschetta all in the same day. The entire process took about 4 1/2 hours. Although you can easily prepare the bread and quinoa ahead of time. They both store well for a couple of days.I also made bruschetta just for myself, so I used one large slice of bread and just called it a meal! But you can easily scale up this recipe. Using smaller toast points is a great way to do this. For the entire batch of quinoa, you can use 6 large slices of bread (or 24 baguette-sized slices). This scales up to 24 slices of tomato (~6 tomatoes) and 24 slices of mozzarella (~2 16 oz. packages).
- Bake No-knead Dutch Oven Bread. You can easily buy a loaf of bread. If you want to make it, though, this is a quick and easy recipe. The entire process takes about 3 hours, with no need to knead the bread or plan for days long proofs!
- Cook Quinoa w/ Balsamic, Carrots, & Brussel Sprouts. This takes about an hour and requires a rice cooker or stove. You can also easily create a different flavor profile or utilize the produce that you have on hand. I almost always keep a batch of rice or quinoa in the fridge for exactly this purpose.
Toast Bread
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Meanwhile, preheat skillet on medium heat. On my stove, this is about a 5.
- Lightly oil the skillet and add a large slice of bread. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the bread is lightly toasted.For smaller loaves or baguettes, you can easily substitute 4 smaller pieces.This part is also optional. I prefer the bread toasted on both sides. Although you can skip this part and go straight to the oven, particularly if you want to save time!
Cook Bruschetta
- Remove from heat and flip so that the toasted portion is face up.
- Add quinoa, tomato slices, and mozzarella.
- Place in the oven and cook until the mozzarella begins to brown. This should only take about 5-7 minutes.
- Let cool slightly and serve.