Roast Veg Bruschetta

I really like yummy food and I really like to cook, however I don't always have the time or energy to spend ages putting together a tasty meal.

So, what the solution? A list of quick and easy but largely healthy meals that I nearly always have the ingredients in my fridge / cupboard for and will get me and my husband and our guests if we have any fed in the minimum amount of time with the minimum amount of fuss.

Last night we wanted to do a supper for our friends who looked after our house whilst we were on holiday, but because we've just got back I didn't really want to get into cooking an elaborate dish. Enter - Roast Veg Bruschetta.

Pronounced "broo-sket-a", this is a super simple lunch / dinner / snack (depending on how many you make / eat...) which only requires 10 minutes or so of chopping and a close eye on the grill later on in the process.

Makes 8 slices
- 1 loaf crusty bread (I used sourdough)
- 1 large courgette
- 2 medium mixed peppers (or 6 mini ones)
- 1 red onion
- 1/2 white onion
- 2 large cloves garlic
- Olive oil (good stuff)
- 1 ball mozzarella
- Pesto (to drizzle)
- Salt & pepper
- Dried oregano

Firstly chop up all of your veg into bite size pieces, put in an oven proof dish, season with salt, pepper and a sprinkling of oregano, drizzle with olive oil and then mix until everything is coated with the oil and seasoning. Put in an oven which has been pre-heated to 180 degrees for about 20 mins.

While your veggies are in the oven, cut the bread into slices which are thick enough so that when they are grilled on each side they're still a little bit soft in the middle. With this in mind, grill the bread slices lightly on each side.

Chop the mozzarella in to little bite-sized pieces.

When you've grilled the bread, cut the garlic cloves in half and rub the raw edge over one side of each the bread slices - each half of garlic will do about 2 pieces of toast before it disintegrates. Lightly brush the garlic-ed side of the bread with olive oil.

When the veg is nicely roasted put a couple of spoonfuls on the garlic and oiled side of the toast, top with a few pieces of mozzarella, drizzle with pesto and finish with a couple of grinds of black pepper.

Pop back under the grill until the cheese has melted and then devour.

If pesto's not your thing, when you roast the veg add some balsamic vinegar to the oil & seasoning mix and you'll get a nice sweet caramelised taste to the topping.

If you've got any of the roast veg left over, reheat it in the oven and serve with fusilli pasta finished with crumbled feta.

What are your go-to recipes when you're hungry and in a rush? Let me know how you get on with this recipe and I'd be interested to hear of any of your own "twists" that you add.