Parsley and Mango topping for bruschetta

By  Ratna

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“The  Etruscans  always  built  their  houses  on  top  of  the  hill-aa.”  said  Julia,  always  stressing  the  last  word  of  the  sentence  such  that  hill  sounded  like  hillaa.  “They  believed  that  this  advantage  of  height  would  work  to  their  favour-aa”,  she  nodded  her  head  and  waved  her  arm  to  make  a  strong  point.  “As  we  know  that  was  not  the  case  and  the  Romans  defeated  them  in  the  4th  century  BC-aa”.

parsley bruschetta

We  were  on  a  day  trip  to  the  Tuscan  countryside  from  Rome.  Enjoying  the  breathtaking  scenery  outside  was  Bowni,  my  daughter  and  I.  A  mother-daughter  trip  that  we  meant  to  do  for  a  long  time  finally  took  place.  The  rolling  hills  were  covered  with  grapevines.  The  tall  Cypress  trees  demarcating  the  properties.  The  red  poppies  were  just  starting  to  bloom.

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Our  first  stop  was  Montepulciano  a  tiny  medieval  hill  town.  A  steep  climb  to  the  town  centre,  Piazza  Grande  left  me  gasping  for  breath.  Ektu  jol  kheye  nao,  drink  some  water,  offered  Bowni.

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The  Piazza  Grande  was  dotted  with  a  church  and  some  wine  tasting  stations. Cheese  made  from  sheep’s  milk  or  Fromaggio  Pecorino  proudly  displayed  in  the  shop’s  windows.  The  stone  walls  of  these  buildings  must  have  so  much  to  tell,  if  only  they  could  speak.

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A  short  drive  from  Montepulciano  was  the  Poggio  Il  Castellare – a  family  run  business  producing  wine  from  the  locally  grown  grapes.

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Their  wine  Brunello  di  Montalcino  has  remained  the  best  wine  of  the  region  for  the  past  few  years.  We  had  lunch  in  the  wine  cellar, large  oak  wine  barrels,  shielded  from  sunlight, carefully  monitored  for  precise  temperatures  and  humidity,  serving  as our  background.  We  sampled  bruschetta  with  different  toppings,  Pappa  al  pomodoro  a  tomato  based  dip  and  Pici,  a  locally  hand  made  spaghetti.  The  green  topping  on  one  of  the  bruschetta  made  me  go  for  seconds.  Dessert  was  Cantucci  (a  type  of  biscotti)  and  a  cake  with  prune  jam  topping.  Shawb  kichu  niyechho?  Have  you  taken  all  your  belongings,  Bowni  reminded  me  as  we  were  boarding  the  bus  again.

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We  headed  to  Pienza  next.  Olive  trees  with  silver  coloured  leaves  covered  the  landscape. The  bushy  trees  sitting  in  geometrical  lines  looked  like  the  pawns  on  a  chessboard.  Julia  was  in  animated  conversation  with  Faustio  our  driver,  who  negotiated  the  tight  hairpin  bends  sometimes  with  one  hand  causing  my  right  foot  to  move  reflexly  as  if  to  brake.

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“We  are  heading  back  to  Romaaa”,  Julia  announced,  her  curly  dark  hair  moving  with  her  head.  “Any  questions-aa  ?”  she  enquired.  Recipe  ta  oke  jigesh  kawro,  ask  her  the  recipe  prompted  Bowni,  noticing that  I  really  enjoyed  the  green  topping  on  the  bruschetta.  “Parsley,  mayonnaise  and  garlic-aa.”,  Julia  said  in  one  breath.

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My  mind  wandered  back  to  a  time  which  only  felt  like  a  few  years  ago,  a  time  when  I  had   to  remind  Bowni  if  she  needed  to  drink  water  or  use  the  bathroom.  Why  was  the  lunch  box  not  empty  when  she  came  back  from  school  or  if  she  needed  help  carrying  her  oversized  backpack  to  school.  I  held  back  my  tears  as  I  realized  I  had  lost  my  little  girl.

I  gained  a  friend  and  confidante  instead…

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Back  home  a  few  trials  later,  here  is  a  very  close  replica  of  the  Parsley  topping  for  Bruschetta  that  we  enjoyed  the  other  day  in  the  pictureseque  Tuscan  village.

parsley and mango bruschetta

I  have  added  a  few  ribbons  of  mango  as  a  garnish.

Recipe:

The  amount  was  sufficient  to  top  about  ten  baguette  pieces.

Ingredients;

Fresh  parsley  chopped                                     One  cup  packed

Mayo                                                                 Four  Tbsps

Garlic  cloves                                                    Three

Olive  oil                                                             One  Tbsp

Baguette                                                            One

Mango  ribbons                                                 One  Tbsp

Method;

Blend the  parsley,  garlic  and  mayonnaise  together.  Set  aside.

Cut  the  baguette  in  one  cm  thick  pieces.  Heat  a  nonstick  pan  on  medium.  Add  a  Tbsp  of  olive  oil.  Arrange  the  baguette  pieces,  lightly  brown  both  sides.

Top  up  with  the  dip,  garnish  with  mango  ribbons.  Serve  right  away.

Inside  Scoop;

I  tried  a  few  proportions  of  the  ingredients.  This  one  worked  for  me.

 

 

 

 

2 thoughts on “Parsley and Mango topping for bruschetta

  1. What a beautiful feeling to have such touching mother and daughter moments. There is nothing quite like knowing that the little girl who was once your baby is now a beautiful women who you can truly call your best friend. I have that relationship with my daughter and miss every second I am away from her. Lovely post Ratna

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