Mustard-mascarpone bruschetta

It’s irrational, but I’ve held it against Bon Appétit that they replaced Gourmet one issue into my new subscription — at least until now. The only issue I’d bought previous to this one since my sulk began was the one earlier this year with Ottolenghi recipes in it. I still haven’t cooked from it, but that’s more due to having forgotten about it until now. This month’s (September’s) issue finally suckered me back into the cooking-from-Bon Appétit fold with its catchy headlines “Top Thai in DC” and “Lush Layer Cakes in Atlanta.”

Disappointingly there are no recipes for the actual Thai food (I suppose I’ll have to hop on the Metro at some point and stand in line to eat at the featured restaurant, but where does that leave non-D.C.-area readers? Not with Thai food in their stomachs, that’s for sure), so if I were still sulking about BA, I’d probably hold this against them, but the recipes for the layer cakes look incredible.

Despite wanting to drop everything and bake one right away, it’s become apparent that if I share one more sweet baking recipe I’ll probably turn someone into a sugar cube. So, I decided to try out this fantastically easy recipe for mustard-mascarpone bruschetta. Actually it’s from another DC restaurant, Fiola, so that’s rather cool. I should probably go check them out too, since anyone who comes up with this sort of tastiness deserves at least one investigatory meal.

It sounds weird, but mustard and mascarpone do go well together, though I suspect that’s because, despite the title, there’s really not that much Dijon mustard in it. I think you could probably safely sub in whole-grain mustard if you’ve got that instead, but if you’ve only got Coleman’s or, uh, the yellow hot dog kind, probably it would be better to just go buy some Dijon. Despite there only being three tablespoons in the spread, it gets top billing for a reason. There’s also a healthy dose of fresh basil leaves adding a fragrant freshness to the rich mascarpone.

While the spread is perfect as-is (actually, I changed out mixed peppercorns for regular peppercorns, but really this is quite a minor change), I kind of want to keep tweaking it. I think adding in a teaspoon or so of chopped capers might be the next version I try, to boost the vinegary bite of the mustard. Or, perhaps topping it with prosciutto and broiling as a sort of open-faced Croque-Monsieur…?

And, as always, please let me know if you come up with any cool adaptations, I’d love to try them too!

Mustard-mascarpone bruschetta

Adapted from Fiola via Bon Appétit

Makes about 3/4 cup

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (about eight ounces or 225 grams) mascarpone cheese
• Three tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup loosely-packed basil, chopped somewhat finely
• Freshly ground sea salt and pepper (preferably mixed peppercorns, but regular works fine too), to taste

1. Mix all ingredients together except salt and pepper. Taste. Correct seasonings.

2. Spread on slices of nice crusty bread, toasted is nice too as it melts the mascarpone a bit. Enjoy!

Note: this keeps well in the refrigerator for about a day; beyond that the basil starts to become less attractive, though taste-wise it’s perfectly fine.

Trabocchi, Fabio, with Hannah Sullivan. “Mustard-mascarpone bruschetta” from “Three Chefs, One Ingredient.” Bon Appétit. Sept. 2012: 24. Print.

About these ads