rel="nofollow" href="#fb3_img_img_a281dea6-af5b-5ad2-afa2-ab50f2cb81ef.jpg"/> Spread black olive pâté over the crostini or bruschetta then lop with the red pepper, capers and a few leaves of flat-leaf parsley.
Slice the aubergine into rounds about 3mm/1/8 inch thick and lay them on the grill pan.
Brush with olive oil on both sides then grill on high for 5–10 minutes, until golden brown and tender.
Tear the mint sprigs and mix with the aubergine. Add a few drops of balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste then divide between the crostini or bruschetta.
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LENTILS WITH CRANBERRIES
This Christmassy variation can be made very quickly with canned lentils.
Spread the soft white goat’s cheese thickly on the crostini or bruschetta.
Chop the sun-dried tomatoes and arrange them on top of the goat’s cheese, together with a few leaves of rocket, then grind some black pepper coarsely over the top.
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HUMMUS, OLIVE AND PAPRIKA
You can buy very good hummus at most of the big supermarkets and it makes an excellent topping for crostini.
Spread the hummus thickly on top of the crostini or bruschetta. Sprinkle some paprika pepper over the top, then drizzle a little olive oil on top of that.
Decorate with the black olives and a sprig or two of flat-leaf parsley.
Wash and dry the mushrooms then chop them finely (use a food processor for this if you have one). Melt the butter in a saucepan, put in the mushrooms and garlic and cook them over a fairly high heat until the mushrooms are tender and any liquid they produce has evaporated – this may take 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, boil the eggs for 10 minutes or the quail’s eggs for 21/2 minutes. Shell them and slice them fairly thinly, or cut the quail’s eggs in half. Season with salt and pepper.
Season the mushroom mixture then either leave it to cool slightly or spread it on the crostini or bruschetta while still hot. Top with the egg slices and a little black olive pâté.
