Eggplant Bruschetta, plus Mozzarella

Grilled Eggplant Bruschetta with melted mozzarella cheese, red pepper flakes and fennel seeds. Made with toasted crusty Italian bread this appetizer or antipasto is simple, light and packed full of flavour.

We've been making this eggplant bruschetta for years now and it's always good. It's made with five simple ingredients and it's easy to make.

Sometimes we'll use slices of toasted crusty bread and other times we'll use crusty rolls sliced in half (usually Rosetta rolls that are pictured in our Insalata Russa recipe).

The eggplant (aubergine) is grilled on a hot griddle pan until it's cooked through. It's then topped with fresh mozzarella, red pepper flakes and fennel seeds (one of our favourite flavour combos).

Fennel seeds and red pepper flakes are something we cook with a lot. Try adding some fennel seeds into a ragú and see how it transforms. The same goes for the red pepper flakes a little pinch of heat can add so much flavour to simple pasta dishes, stews and sauces.

Some tips before you begin

• Using fresh mozzarella – pat it from any excess moisture with kitchen paper. Slice it and let it sit on the paper while you grill the eggplant.
• Grilling eggplant – We like to brush the slices of eggplant with olive oil using a pastry brush to get it evenly coated.
• Prepping the eggplant – there's no need to salt the eggplant first cut it into even slices.
• Herbs and spices – you only need a small sprinkle of both fennel seeds and red pepper flakes (chilli flakes). You could also use dried oregano.
• Serving suggestion – We love to serve this for lunch or with a cocktail such as an Aperol or Campari Spritz for an aperitivo.

Visual walk-through of the recipe

1. Finely slice the eggplant with a knife then using a pastry brush lightly brush each side with a little olive oil. Place the eggplant slices on a hot griddle pan until coloured and charred on each side. They should only take around 30-60 seconds on each side.

1. Place the griddled eggplant slices on some kitchen paper and cut the crusty bread slices. Toast the bread on one side only by placing them under a grill.

1. Next add two slices of cooked eggplant on the untoasted side of bread, add more slices for larger slices of bread. Top with mozzarella and sprinkle over red pepper flakes, fennel seeds and a pinch of salt and pepper.

1. Place the slices under a hot grill until the mozzarella is bubbling, melted and slightly golden, serve hot.

More easy bruschetta toppings to try

• Bruschetta al pomodoro (authentic tomato bruschetta)
• Sausage and stracchino
• Crostini three ways – spinach, creamy white bean and prosciutto, pecorino and truffle honey
• Pea pesto and goats cheese
• Whipped ricotta with balsamic cherries
• Sun dried tomato pesto and ricotta
• Roasted fennel, salami and ricotta

Love eggplant? Check out our other recipes Italian marinated eggplantEggpalnt roll-ups with spinach and ricotta and Parmigiana di Melanzane (aubergine parmigiana (our Parmigiana recipe is a firm reader favourite!).

Ingredients

Makes 8 servings

• 8 slices crusty bread
• 1 medium sized eggplant (aubergine)
• 8.8 oz (250g) mozzarella (, sliced)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• chilli flakes (red pepper flakes)
• fennel seeds
• salt and pepper (,to season)

Method

1. Put a griddle pan over medium heat. Finely slice the eggplant lengthways and brush each side with a little olive oil using a pastry brush. Place the slices on the griddle pan in batches and grill each side until slightly charred and cooked through.

2. Place the cooked eggplant on a plate lined with kitchen paper. Put the slices of bread under a hot grill (broiler) and toast on one side only.

3. Place two slices of eggplant of the untoasted side of each slice of bread. Add extra eggplant to larger slices if needed. Top each bruschetta with mozzarella then sprinkle over a few red pepper flakes, fennel seeds then a pinch of salt and pepper.

4. Place the bruschetta under a hot grill (broiler) until the mozzarella has melted, bubbling and slightly golden. Cut large slices in half and serve hot.