Za'atar bruschetta recipe | bruschetta recipe
You’ll love these refreshing, middle eastern inspired za’atar bruschetta topped with fresh tomatoes, cucumber, kalamata olives & fresh mint leaves. They are perfect as a starter, snack or as a party food!
Servings 5 slices
Calories 288kcal
Equipment
- oven to toast
Ingredients
For the za’atar bread
- 4-5 slices of crusty Italian bread or 8-10 baguette slices (sliced 1.5 cm thick), refer to notes
- 4 tbsp za’atar spice mix
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (if possible, first cold pressed)
For the topping
- 1-2 medium-large ripe & juicy tomato/tomatoes (200-225 gms), diced small (approx. 1 cm)
- 1 lebanese cucumber (150-175 gms), unpeeled & diced small (approx. 1 cm)
- ¼-⅓ cup kalamata olives or marinated mixed olives, sliced
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (if possible, first cold pressed)
- ¼-½ tsp salt (taste & adjust depending on the salt in olives)
- ½ lemon, juice of
- ½ cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
Instructions
Preheat oven
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 230°C or 450°F. Lowering the oven rack prevents the za’atar from burning and helps toast the bread from the underside. If the lower third position for the oven rack is not possible, then place the oven rack in the middle.
Prepare the topping
- Dice the tomato/tomatoes in small pieces (approx. 1 cm) and place it in a bowl.
- Trim the ends of the cucumber, dice it into small pieces (approx. 1 cm) & add it to the bowl. Do not peel the cucumber.
- Add in the sliced olives, olive oil, lemon juice & salt.
- Roughly tear the mint leaves with your hand (approx. 1.5 -2cm) and add them to the bowl.
- Gently toss to combine & let the topping mix marinate for 10-15 minutes for the flavors to blend in. Do not drain the juice that gets accumulated, it is full of flavor! We will use this delicious juice to drizzle on the topping later. (This topping is also good as a refreshing salad on its own!)
Prepare the bread
- Meanwhile, put the za’atar mix in a bowl and pour in the olive oil. Stir to make a paste. It might seem like a lot of olive oil but it needs enough olive oil for the paste to be spread easily.
- Slice the bread or baguette (1.5 cm thick). Spread each bread slice with the za’atar paste.
- Place the slices on a baking tray and toast in the oven for about 3-5 minutes, depending on your oven & on the size of the bread. Check the bread around the 3-minute mark and toast longer as per preference.
- Remove from the oven and let the toasts cool down.
Assemble
- Pile topping onto the toasted za'atar bread, drizzle some of the delicious juice from the topping and serve immediately.
- You can also make it DIY by serving a bowl of topping and toasted za'atar bread and let everyone make their own.
Video
Notes
- 1 cup=250ml
- Calories information is approximate, calculated using online Recipe Calorie & Nutrition Calculator, calculated for 5 slices Italian bread.
- I recommend using plain white bread for the za'atar flavor to shine.
- Making ahead
- Storage
Nutrition
Calories: 288kcal