Mediterranean Bruschetta

Any given Sunday you can walk into our church and immediately to the right of the door you will see shelves (taller than me) stocked with Panera breads…and sometimes there is an extra table piled high too.  Piled high with crusty bread, bagels, sandwich bread, pastries.  The only thing missing is soup, seriously.  (By the way – SO so ready for soup weather!)

I’m not even exactly sure when the church started doing this ministry.  All I know is that bread and other items are dropped off at our church.  I am guessing they are day-old items, possible.  They are bagged and set out for us on Sunday morning.  There is a donation box on the shelves and most people flock to the Panera shelves for some good grilled cheese bread.   The ministry helps fund general hospitality efforts for the church but more that it puts a smile on a lot of faces on Sunday mornings.  I do love coming home from church and grilling up some baguette!

So last weekend, as I often do, I grabbed some crusty French bread, threw a few dollars into the box and when I got home, immediately started slicing away.  I ran into the pantry and glanced at a couple of jars of Artichoke Salad that STAR had recently sent my way for some recipe development.  The wheels started churning and almost immediately, I had this: Mediterranean Bruschetta.  I almost went a grilled-cheese-route, but then thought that might be too obvious?  So instead I went a bruschetta route.  I toasted the bread (brushed with garlic olive oil!), speared on a layer of basil pesto, then topped with chopped Artichoke Salad, and crumbled feta cheese.  10 minutes and done!

Print Recipe

Mediterranean Bruschetta

Yield: 4-8 servings (1-2 slices each)

Total Time: 15 min

Super simple bruschetta, perfect for last-minute entertaining or a quick weekday lunch - featuring crusty bread, basil pesto, STAR Fine Foods Artichoke Salad and crumbled feta cheese.

Ingredients:

8 (1/4-inch thick) slices crusty bread
2 (12-ounce) jars Cara Mia Artichoke Salad
2 Tablespoons garlic olive oil
1/4 cup basil pesto
2 ounces crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

Turn the broiler on to high. Brush one side of each slice of bread with a light coating of garlic olive oil. Broil on high for about 6 minutes, until the bread is toasted and golden brown.

While the bread toasts, coarsely chop the artichoke salad and set aside.

When the bread is toasted, spread on a layer of pesto. Top the pesto with the chopped artichoke salad, and then sprinkle some feta on top. Serve immediately.