Bruschetta made with warm sourdough is a great way to start a meal.
You need to taste the flame in the bread; the easiest way to achieve this is with a well-seasoned cast-iron griddle pan, but you also get fantastic results over a barbecue or an open fire.
Make this when you can get hold of Irish tomatoes grown for flavour, which – with very little work – can transport you to the Mediterranean.
Bruschetta Two Ways: Tomato & Basil, Broad Bean
Serves 6–8
Ingredients
For the broad bean bruschetta
- 500g frozen broad beans
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 fresh mint sprig, leaves stripped and finely chopped
- pinch of dried chilli flakes
For the tomato and basil bruschetta
- 300g vine-ripened Irish tomatoes
- 1 fresh basil sprig
- 1 small sourdough loaf
- 1 garlic clove, halved
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
To make the broad bean topping
- Cook the beans in a pan of boiling salted water for 4–5 minutes until tender.
- Drain and refresh under cold running water and slip the beans out of their skins.
- Put in a bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil, then roughly mash and fold in the Parmesan, mint and chilli flakes.
- Season to taste.
- This can be done a few hours in advance and kept covered with cling film at room temperature.
For the tomato topping
- Cut the tomatoes into chunky pieces and season to taste.
- Tear in the basil and add another drizzle of olive oil.
- Heat a griddle pan over a high heat until smoking.
- Meanwhile, cut the sourdough loaf into thick slices, approximately 1.5cm, discarding the ends.
- Add the slices of bread to the pan in batches and cook for 1–2 minutes on each side until lightly charred.
- As soon as they are done, rub with the garlic and drizzle lightly with olive oil.
- Spoon the two different toppings on the bruschetta when ready to serve and arrange on a platter – the two different colours will look fantastic.
Neven Maguire, Eva Pau, and Catherine Fulvio will be featured on the Dunnes Stores Quality Kitchen Stage at Bord Bia Bloom, May 28th-June 1st 2026. Tickets available on borbiabloom.com