Commander’s Goat Cheese Bruschetta

This recipe comes from the culinary expertise of the Base Foods Officer at Canadian Forces Base Suffield … Master Warrant Officer John Robinson.  He whipped this up for my Commander’s Christmas Reception and was the hit of the party … at least on the food side of things.  It was not uncommon to see folks jealously guarding plates of the bruschetta.  This recipe makes a large batch so adjust according to size of party.

For the Bruschetta, mix together 4 large ripe tomatoes, diced small, 1/2 large red onion, diced small, 1/3 cup EVOO, 2 limes freshly squeezed with zest, 1 lemon freshly squeezed with zest, 1/3 cup fresh parsley chopped, 1/2 bunch green onions, thinly sliced, minced garlic to taste and then adjust juice and oil as desired.  Set aside.

With mushrooms of your choosing (like a chanterelle or oyster) sautee in EVOO until mushrooms soften and set aside.  With thinly sliced prosciutto ham (1/4″ by 1″) sautee until crisp.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400F.  On a flat bread of your choosing, brush lightly with EVOO and then sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan cheese over the bread.  Bake in oven for 5 minutes.  Remove and add bruschetta evenly over bread.  Then building like a pizza add: crumbled goat cheese, chopped mushrooms, ham, a mixture of red/orange/yellow peppers and black olives diced very small.  Place  bread back in oven and cook a further 5-10 minutes until goat cheese starts to melt.

Remove from oven.  Cut into small squares or bite size chunks and then drizzle with a balsamic glaze vinegar (which can be bought at most stores).

Serve and enjoy!