Bruschetta & Bruschetta Sandwich

I'm going to let you know right now, you may fall in love with this recipe to the point where you will crave it day in and day out. The great thing is that it is soo simple you'll have hardly reason not to! So without further ado I present to you the famous Bruschetta Sandwich!

Bruschetta & Bruschetta Sandwich:

Ingredients 

Bruschetta:

French Baguette

Pesto:

8oz. Organic Basil

1/4 cup Pine Nuts

3 cloves Garlic

1/2 cup Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Tomato Pesto:

3 Roma Tomatoes or 1-2 cans Organic Diced Tomatoes

Pesto 

Bruschetta Sandwich:

French Baguette 

4oz Pressed Firm Tofu* (cut into 1/4 in. thick strips)

Chicken seasoning 

Pesto

Tomato Pesto (or sliced tomatoes)

*See below for other options!

Start with putting basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and salt&pepper to taste in Cuisinart. Mix and blend until your pesto looks about like the photo here. Et Voila! Your Pesto is finished!! 

Now when you take out the pesto it is okay to leave some of the pesto in, don't worry about getting everything off the sides of the Cuisinart or the blade because this will be used in the next step (and makes for easy clean up later!). Put the pesto in a separate container and refrigerate until use. In the Cuisinart now add your tomatoes, if using whole roma tomatoes, peel and dice before hand, otherwise strain the can of tomatoes before you add. Add a bit of Salt & Pepper and pulse just until blended. Strain the mixture until it is a similar consistency to the pesto you made prior. Transfer to separate container, store in refrigerator until use.

For the Bruschetta, slice the French Baguette in 1/2 inch wide slides, broil on both sides until golden brown. Don't forget to save some of the baguette for your sandwich or be sure to get an additional baguette. Spoon the Tomato Pesto first then the Pesto on top and you are ready to serve up an amazing appetizer, people will be begging for more!

My favorite seasoning to use for my Tofu and especially for this recipe is the McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Chicken seasoning (it's vegan, no actual chicken harmed!) But it works perfect with tofu and even gives it a great texture. Gently press the seasoning on both sides of the pressed firm tofu and fry in a pan with a small amount of olive oil on medium heat until crisp on both sides.

To serve, cut the French Baguette into sandwich size lengths, pop in the oven broil on high until golden brown. Place cooked tofu, pesto, tomato pesto or sliced tomatoes into sandwich and Mangia Mangia!

Substitutes & Options:

Pesto- If you are making pesto for your pasta you will want to add more olive oil and blend for a longer period of time. This will make for a smoother pesto that will work best with pastas! You may also add the pesto to a saucepan with Parmesan cheese and milk/cream for a creamy pesto (or mix it with your alfredo sauce).

Substitute for Tofu- Chicken will be best with this sandwich. Use the same seasoning on Chicken breast, cook and eat!

Bread- As far as the Bruschetta I would keep with a French Baguette, however for the sandwich you can use whatever your heart desires! My favorites have been, Ciabatta, salted Fococcia & Fococcia with herbs.