Bruschetta is ideal to set the mood for any Italian meal but these tasty toasted slices are so delicious that you can also serve them at any other time.

We often serve it as a pre-braai snack, as a light summer lunch with salads or with a bowl of soup in the evening meal when you don't feel like a huge meal or spending time in the kitchen.

The beauty of bruschetta is that you can play around with flavours to suit your palate, very much like a pizza, but just easier and quicker to make.

Key ingredients usually are olives, tomato, olive oil, fresh garlic, black pepper, and fresh leaves such as basil or rocket.

To serve four starter portions of bruschetta you need:

Ingredients:

Instructions:

Mix all the ingredients except for the olive oil and the bread and set aside.

Brush the bread slices on both sides with the olive oil and add any left over oil to the salad mixture.

Brown bread slices lightly on both sides and rub one side with the garlic cloves.

Top the toasted slices with the salad mixture and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.

Footnote: You can also add chopped anchovies, or finely chopped red onion for additional flavour.