Bruschetta bites

This is a version of a recipe I came up with several years ago, and make fairly often – these baguette bites are a tasty appetizer, or can be made with slightly larger slices as a side dish. It is based loosely on a bruschetta, and adding some diced tomatoes and fresh basil to the sauce would work, if you want something more traditional. This particular time I used a whole grain baguette, but any baguette or Italian loaf with work.


INGREDIENTS:
15 slices 2.5”-diameter baguette (toasted)
Olive oil
SAUCE:
1 packet Parma Rosa
~ 3 oz. shredded parmesan
¾ cup milk
1 tbls. Butter

Slice and toast the bread, brushing with a little bit of olive oil first to create a nice crust on top.


The Parma Rosa was prepared as described in the packet, except with only ¾ cup milk – it is important to have this reduced amount of milk to create more of a paste than a sauce.

Next, melt the parmesan into the sauce. I melted slices of parmesan on mine, but I REALLY like parmesan, and wanted to have the flavor more present – I don’t recommend this for most people. Let this cool almost to room temperature to thicken, and prevent it from soaking into the bread while hot.

Coat the slices with about 2 teaspoons of the sauce mixture. I didn’t care if it sat nicely on top, so I might have put some extra on mine…


Lastly, broil for a few minutes until nice and browned., and top with some basil and thyme. Let cool a bit, since if you take a bite while hot the sauce acts as molten lava that sticks to the roof of your mouth, creating one of the nastier burns an appetizer can make.

Experiment with the recipe. I never have measured anything when doing this recipe before, and each one is a little different.