Rose Elliot - Rose Elliot’s Vegetarian Meals In Minutes

For crostini, brush the slices lightly with olive oil if you wish; I prefer them without. For bruschetta, rub the cut clove of garlic lightly over the surface and brush or drizzle with some olive oil. Serve plain, or with any of the toppings suggested below.

SERVES 2

All these toppings make enough for 8 small or 4 large crostini, or 2 bruschetta. Serve the crostini or bruschetta as soon as possible after adding the toppings.

6–8 cherry tomatoes crostini or bruschetta (see above)

50g / 2oz feta cheese

sprigs of thyme

freshly ground black pepper

Slice the cherry tomatoes and arrange them over the crostini or bruschetta then crumble the feta cheese over them.

Snip a little fresh thyme over that and add a grinding of black pepper.

1 red pepper

black olive pâté

crostini or bruschetta (see above)

2–3 tsp capers

a few leaves of flat-leaf parsley

Cut the pepper into quarters then grill it for about 10 minutes or until the skin has blistered and charred in places.

Cool slightly, then remove the skin and seeds and slice or chop the flesh.

Spread black olive pâté over the crostini or bruschetta then lop with the red pepper, capers and a few leaves of flat-leaf parsley.

1 medium aubergine

olive oil

4 sprigs of mint

balsamic vinegar

salt and freshly ground black pepper

crostini or bruschetta (see here)

Slice the aubergine into rounds about 3mm/ 1/ 8inch thick and lay them on the grill pan.

Brush with olive oil on both sides then grill on high for 5–10 minutes, until golden brown and tender.

Tear the mint sprigs and mix with the aubergine. Add a few drops of balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste then divide between the crostini or bruschetta.

This Christmassy variation can be made very quickly with canned lentils.

1 small onion, peeled and chopped

1 tbls olive oil

1 × 425g / 15oz can of lentils

crostini or bruschetta (see here)

2 tbls cranberry sauce, preferably containing whole cranberries

sprigs of flat-leaf parsley

Fry the onion in the olive oil for 7–10 minutes, until soft and lightly browned.

Drain the lentils and add to the onion, mashing them a bit so that they hold together.

Spread this mixture on top of the crostini or bruschetta, piling it up well.

Dot the cranberry sauce over the top and decorate with sprigs of flat-leaf parsley.

crostini or bruschetta (see here)

a few leaves of chicory

125g 14oz blue cheese

6 black grapes

a few pine nuts

Cover the crostini or bruschetta with chicory leaves, breaking or shredding them as necessary.

Thinly slice the blue cheese and arrange on top.

Halve and pip the grapes and lay these on top, then scatter over a few pine nuts.

125g / 4oz soft white goat’s cheese

crostini or bruschetta (see here)

8 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained

several rocket leaves

freshly ground black pepper

Spread the soft white goat’s cheese thickly on the crostini or bruschetta.

Chop the sun-dried tomatoes and arrange them on top of the goat’s cheese, together with a few leaves of rocket, then grind some black pepper coarsely over the top.

You can buy very good hummus at most of the big supermarkets and it makes an excellent topping for crostini.

125g / 4oz hummus

crostini or bruschetta (see here)

paprika pepper

olive oil

8 black olives

a few sprigs of flat-leaf parsley

Spread the hummus thickly on top of the crostini or bruschetta. Sprinkle some paprika pepper over the top, then drizzle a little olive oil on top of that.

Decorate with the black olives and a sprig or two of flat-leaf parsley.

225g / 8oz mushrooms

25g / 1 oz butter

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 eggs or 4 quail’s eggs

salt and freshly ground black pepper

crostini or bruschetta (see here)

black olive pâté

Wash and dry the mushrooms then chop them finely (use a food processor for this if you have one). Melt the butter in a saucepan, put in the mushrooms and garlic and cook them over a fairly high heat until the mushrooms are tender and any liquid they produce has evaporated – this may take 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil the eggs for 10 minutes or the quail’s eggs for 2 1/ 2minutes. Shell them and slice them fairly thinly, or cut the quail’s eggs in half. Season with salt and pepper.

Season the mushroom mixture then either leave it to cool slightly or spread it on the crostini or bruschetta while still hot. Top with the egg slices and a little black olive pâté.

Plum tomatoes usually have flavour and nice firm texture, but you could use other well – flavoured tomatoes.

4 fresh plum tomatoes

salt and freshly ground black pepper

olive oil

50g / 2oz Mozzarella cheese (packed in water)

crostini or bruschetta (see here)

8 fresh basil leaves

Slice the tomatoes into rounds, put them on a plate and sprinkle them with salt, pepper and a few drops of olive oil. Cut the Mozzarella cheese into small pieces.

Arrange the tomatoes on top of the crostini or bruschetta then du! the cheese over the tomatoes.

Tear the basil leaves over the top of the tomatoes and cheese and grind over some more black pepper to taste.

A strange and interesting recipe, adapted from New Food For All Palates by Sally and Lucian Berg (Gollancz, 1967). Frozen beans are fine for this.

1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced

2 tbls olive oil

125g / 4oz green beans

1 egg, hard-boiled

salt and freshly ground black pepper

crostini or bruschetta (see here)

Fry the onion in the oil until golden brown and crisp (this is very important for the flavour).

Cook the green beans in a little boiling water for 3–4 minutes, until tender, then drain.

Shell and roughly chop the hard-boiled egg. Put the beans, egg and half the onion into a food processor and whizz to a purée. Season to taste.