Jade: Bitemybruschetta

I love the versatility of food. It's hardly ever an exact science and most of the time recipes and cook books serve as more of a guide/ source of inspiration..I never follow recipes to the letter because half the fun is in experimenting with alternative ingredients and ratios. I got a little cookbook from the charity shops over the weekend and what I found most precious were the pencilled-in notes and suggestions in the margins of every page. "Too salty, try adding cumin?".."More zest, smaller portions, would make a wonderful starter"...someone had obviously taken the time to try these recipes and alter them to suit her palate. Shame that it ended up being given away...ah well, lucky me:)

Tomato bruschetta [ Adapted from yet another one of Raymond Blanc's recipes. This started out as Maman Blanc's tomato salad..thick slices of organic tomatoes marinated in a tangy mustard dressing. I had a craving for something light that I could pick on...something like bruschetta ;) ]

Half a crusty french baguette, sliced diagonally

1 beefsteak tomato [ you want something very firm and meaty since it forms the bulk of this dish]

1 shallot, cut in half, slice one half thinly and chop up the other half, this way u get a bit of it in the dressing, and a bit in the salad for crunch

1 clove garlic, crushed and minced

1/2 tbsp dijon mustard [ I used wholegrain]

1-2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp warm water

some torn, fresh basil

some chopped parsley

1 chunk of goats cheese

1. Chop the tomato into medium sized chunks and place in a bowl

2. Add the thinly sliced shallots

3. In a separate bowl, mix the mustard, oil, garlic and chopped shallots till you get a thick paste

4. Then add the warm water, and whisk, so you get a lovely yellow emulsion

5. Spoon over the tomatoes, give it a gentle mix and leave to marinade for an hour or so

6. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and when that's ready, bake the baguette slices for about 10 minutes

7. Remove the baguette and drizzle with olive oil. I used sundried tomato oil because I had some in the fridge

8. Add the herbs to the salad, give it a quick toss, spoon over the baguette slices and top with some torn up goats cheese. Bon apetít :)