Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella, and Avocado Crustini

I love bread! So of course, I have a many recipes that involve bread and this crustini recipe is no exception!

This, like so many of my recipes, is easy to make. It’s also light and refreshing recipe. The ingredients include the basics for any good crustini, bread, & garlic. I, of course, can’t leave well enough a lone, so there is avocado, tomatoes and cheese (I am a Wisconsin girl after all).

Servings Vary

The number of people it will serves varies, depending on if this is an appetizer, or a meal.

On to the crustini Recipe!

Toppings

Ingredients:

1. 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2. 1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar

3. 5 oz [about] Cherry Tomatoes (sliced into thirds)

4. 1 Tbsp. fresh Parsley (coarsely chopped)

5. 1 tsp. fresh Oregano (coarsely chopped)

6. 1 Tbsp. fresh Basil (thinly Sliced) – 1/2 will go on top at the end

7. 1/4 [about] tsp fresh ground Sea Salt

8. 1/4 [about] tsp fresh ground Pepper

9. 1 avocado

10. 8 oz fresh mozzarella

“Toast”

Ingredients:

1. 1 Baguette (sliced in diagonals)

2. 3 Tbsp. [about] Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3. 1 Large Garlic Clove (depending on the size of your clove you may need more)

 Total Time: 25 min

This is really easy to make and it encompasses my favorite ingredients, bread, cheese & garlic. And! If you don’t want to heat up your house you can eat these cold as well (perfect for a hot summer day). I will say, the key to this recipe is fresh ingredients.

Start by whis

ing the Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Salt & Pepper together into a dressing. Add the Cherry Tomatoes, about 1/2 of the Basil, parsley (I like to use a mixture of flat leaf and curly leaf), and oregano. Mix together.

Let that sit. While you start the rest.

On to the bread…

Begin with a

ast iron pan and turn the burner to medium heat . While the pan is heating, slice the baguette in a diagonal and brush all the slices with Extra Virgin Olive Oil on both sides. Place the bread on the pan for about 3-5 minutes until the side down as crisped and lightly browned then flip over to brown the other side. While the bread is browning, take a garlic clove and cut the bottom so that you can rub the garlic on the bread when it comes off the pan. Now would also be a good time to pre-heat the oven to 350°.

When the other side is browned, take the bread off the pan and begin to rub the garlic on the side that was most recently browned (this causes the garlic to “melt” onto the bread making it garlic flavor “stick” to it). Be Carful, the slices are hot.

Next, add the next batch of bread to the pan.

Did someone say Avocado?

While these are browning thinly slice the avocado and place the slices on the bread that already has the garlic on it.

Continue this

rotation; flipping the bread, rubbing with garlic and placing the avocado until all are done. I also like to keep some of the bread plan (with just the cheese for my youngest).

When all the

read is done and has avocado on it, add 2 tomato slices per crustini. (save the dressing for the end)

Then slice and place the fresh mozzarella cheese.

Once all the cheese is on top, place it in the oven for about 8-10 min or when the cheese as melted and lightly browned.

Take out of the oven, drizzle with the reserved dressing and top with the other 1/2 of the basil you set aside way at the beginning.

Plate, serve… ENJOY and Share!

Make sure to tag me on Instagram and Facebook #thesmithcountry or @thesmithcountry! I would love to see how your amazing dinner turned out! I always love seeing friends and family come together over a special meal!

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