There are always weekends when we just want to rest, nights when we are exhausted and want few complications... Or we need uncomplicated ideas to present a variety of appetizers or dinners without commitment! Today I bring you a proposal for various toasts , all of them simple and very effective , with which you will brighten up the table with minimal effort.
Some time ago we shared some ideas for delicate and small-format appetizers (" Quick and delicious appetizers: 6 recipes to shine at family celebrations "). Today's dish is a variety of toasts: these toasts occupy a prominent place on my list of preparations when planning an informal dinner . They are also perfect to accompany a good salad or as an appetizer or starter before the second course . Toasts are a perfect resource: you can adapt them to the ingredients you have in the fridge, they make meals more fun and they are ideal for both adults and children at home to eat everything.
The Assorted Toasts that I bring you today are, as you will see, five delicious and very easy to prepare proposals :
- Toasts with fresh cheese, mushrooms and candied cherry tomatoes
- Bacon toast with fresh cheese, walnuts and pineapple
- Grilled vegetable toasts with cream cheese
- Vegetable toasts with parmesan
- Shrimp toasts
You will see that they are all prepared in a very short time , that you can have the ingredients ready to assemble them whenever you want or adapt them completely to your taste , so that they are as easy to make as they are delicious to eat. I hope you like them all and that they will occupy a prominent place on your list of favorites.
1. Toasts with fresh cheese, mushrooms and candied cherry tomatoes
Ingredients
- Creamy fresh cheese (the one you like the most)
- Sliced mushrooms
- Candied cherry tomatoes
- Fresh basil or fresh parsley leaves
- Extra virgin olive oil
Preparation
- Confit the tomatoes. You can see how to do it here .
- Lightly sauté the sliced mushrooms over high heat to prevent them from releasing water.
- Cut thin slices of bread and toast them. If the bread is crispy, you can skip this step.
- Spread each slice of bread with your choice of cheese and arrange a few mushrooms on top.
- Put a couple of cherry tomatoes on each slice of bread and some basil or parsley leaves.
- Drizzle a little EVOO over each toast and it's ready to serve!
Grades
- Instead of using candied tomatoes, you can lightly sauté the cherry tomatoes in a pan with a little oil until you see the skin start to wrinkle a little. If you prefer, it also tastes great with fresh, clean cherry tomatoes, just like that.
2. Grilled pineapple toast with bacon and honey
Ingredients
- Sliced bread or biscuits
- Cottage cheese or, failing that, fresh cheese
- Bacon in slices
- Pineapple slices
- Soft honey
- coarsely chopped walnuts
- Fresh basil leaves
Preparation
- If you use sandwich bread, toast the slices.
- Heat the bacon in the microwave until lightly browned.
- Meanwhile, mark both sides of the pineapple slices on the grill with a drizzle of honey.
- Crumble cottage cheese over crackers or bread. If using cottage cheese, spread it on the bread.
- Place the bacon slice and the pineapple slice on top.
- Sprinkle with some coarsely chopped walnuts and decorate with a few fresh basil leaves.
3. Grilled vegetable toasts with cream cheese
Ingredients
- Cream cheese
- Sliced mushrooms
- Green pepper cut into strips or not very thick slices
- Red tomato, diced (use a fleshy variety, such as pear, for example)
- Sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- Black and green olives
- Chopped parsley
- Chopped basil
- EVOO
Preparation
- Cut the loaf of bread into slices (preferably use a wide loaf) and toast them a little.
- Mark the pepper strips and sliced mushrooms on the grill.
- Drain the dried tomatoes, so that they are not too oily, and chop them finely.
- Cut the olives into two or three slices and the red tomato into cubes of approximately 1 or 1.5 cm (cut into mirepoix ).
- Spread the cheese on the slices of bread and prepare various toasts by combining the ingredients, for example in the following way:
- Green pepper : arrange some sliced mushrooms, a couple of strips or a slice of green pepper, some more mushrooms on top and decorate with a little chopped sun-dried tomato and fresh cheese.
- Black olives : place some sliced mushrooms and black olives on top; decorate with some basil leaves or chopped basil and a little fresh cheese.
- For the tomato: add some diced fresh tomatoes, some sliced mushrooms and some chopped green olives. Sprinkle with a little chopped parsley.
- Put a little EVOO on each slice before serving.
4. Vegetable toasts with parmesan
Ingredients
- Yellow pepper
- Red onion
- Tomato (a fleshy variety, such as the plum tomato)
- Parmesan cheese
- Green sprouts or microgreens
- Fresh basil, chopped
- Salt
- EVOO
Preparation
- Cut the pepper, onion and tomato into small cubes ( brunoise cut) and put everything in a bowl. You can do this by hand with a knife, with a mandolin or with a vegetable cutter .
- Add a pinch of salt, chopped fresh basil and a splash of EVOO and stir carefully so that the vegetables, basil and oil mix well.
- Toast the slices of bread and spread the vegetables on top (one or two tablespoons on each toast).
- Cut a few slices of Parmesan cheese and place them on top of the vegetables on each slice of bread.
- Gracefully scatter a few green sprouts on each toast and voila!
5. Shrimp toast
Ingredients
- Fresh shrimp or prawns (or frozen, either whole or peeled, as you like)
- Chopped parsley
- Salt
- Paprika flakes
- EVOO
Preparation
- Peel the shrimp and remove the gut (the black "thread") by making a cut in the back of the shrimp with a sharp knife.
- Using a silicone brush, brush each slice of bread with EVOO and toast them in the oven. You can also toast them in the toaster, adding the oil when they are ready.
- Meanwhile, sauté the prawns in a pan until done (2-3 minutes) and add a pinch of salt to taste.
- Arrange the prawns on the toasted bread slices and sprinkle with chopped parsley and paprika flakes. Serve immediately.
Note
- If you want to add a delicious touch, you can put a few dots of aioli (with a pastry bag) on the prawns.
As you can see, these are easy suggestions and you can have them half-done to finish preparing them when the occasion arises. And they are delicious and eye-catching. I hope you enjoy making and tasting them!
