With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, it’s time to think about what you’re doing on the big night. If you’re anything like me I like to stay in on the day itself and hopefully settle down to a nice romantic dinner.
I love Italian food, and it doesn’t get much more romantic than Italy, which has some lovely romantic cities like Pisa, Venice and Naples and Rome to name but a few. Jet 2 are now offering city breaks to all of these places and lots more too.
Bruschetta originated in Italy is one of my favorite things to eat in Italy and at Italian restaurants. A base usually consisting of grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with olive oil and salt that can have such a wide variety of toppings like vegetables, beans, cured meat, or cheese although the most common is tomato.
This bruschetta recipe is one that’s a little more hearty and would be a perfect first course for a Valetines Dinner.
Sweet Potato chunks roasted with some salt pepper and olive oil is something I love to eat, and can incorporated into so many dishes; salads, pasta, the list is endless. One thing I love to make with it is a more wintery take on the classic bruschetta.
This version has soft goats cheese, rocket and basil mixed with the sweet potato and drizzled with some fantastic quality olive oil.
Goats Cheese, Sweet Potato and Basil Bruschetta (Serves 2)
Ingredients:
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1cm chunks
- 2 small handfuls rocket
- 4-5 basil leaves, shredded
- 4 tbsp basil oil
- 4 slices of ciabatta bread
- 1 garlic clove
- 100g soft goats cheese, broken roughly into small pieces
- salt and pepper to taste
Method:
- Put the sweet potato chunks in a roasting tray and drizzle with 2 tbsp of the olive oil and season with the salt and pepper. Roast at 200ºC for 20-30 mins until soft and slightly charred
- In a bowl mix the rocket, basil and goats cheese, then when ready add the potato and mix gently
- Take the clove of garlic and rub over one side of each of the ciabatta slices and then drizzle the bread with a tiny amount ( 1/2tsp max) of olive oil
- Heat a griddle pan and toast the ciabatta. The time this takes will vary depending on how hot you pan is, but keep an eye on the bread and when slightly charred, turn and do the same on the other side, then remove from the heat
- Top the ciabatta with some of the topping mix then drizzle with some of the remaining oil.
Happy eating 🙂
