GREEK BRUSCHETTA

Greek Bruschetta image

In Greece they make this dish with rusks - twice-baked breads made of different types of flour, including barley, wheat, chickpea flour and rye. You can make your own rusks by drying out thick slices of whole grain bread in the oven. It's a good way of preserving bread before it goes stale or moldy, but it does take about eight hours. For a quicker version, toast thick pieces of bread - or just look for rusks in a local Greek market.

Provided by Martha Rose Shulman

Categories easy, quick, weekday, appetizer, side dish

Time 15m

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 10

Ingredients

4 thick slices whole-grain country bread
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 pound ripe, locally grown tomatoes
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
1 garlic clove, minced or puréed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or parsley
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 to 2 ounces feta, crumbled (optional)
2 teaspoons dried oregano

Steps:

Toast the bread and set aside, or dry it in a very low oven (a pilot light provides sufficient heat, if you have one) for 8 to 10 hours. Sprinkle rusks with a little water to reconstitute.
Place the onion in a bowl, and cover with cold water. Allow to sit for five minutes, drain, rinse and dry on paper towels. Cut the tomatoes in half at the equator, and grate on the large holes of a box grater set in a wide bowl. Combine the grated tomatoes with the vinegar, capers, garlic, onion and dill or parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
Drizzle 1 teaspoon of the olive oil over each of the toasted bread slices or rusks. Top with the tomato mixture. Sprinkle on the cheese and oregano, drizzle on the remaining olive oil and serve.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 175, UnsaturatedFat 7 grams, Carbohydrate 20 grams, Fat 9 grams, Fiber 3 grams, Protein 4 grams, SaturatedFat 1 gram, Sodium 205 milligrams, Sugar 5 grams, TransFat 0 grams