Blooming Onion

One of my biggest nightmares before a dinner party is appetizers. I cannot seem to decide beforehand what I want to make and that has landed me in trouble quite often. Recently though, a friend's mom gave me a recipe that involved the simplest of things and is very quick and easy to make. I have made substantial changes to that recipe, so I will give you my version of that recipe

You will need :

1. A loaf of French bread ( sourdough French bread is fine)
2. 1 Green capsicum ( bell peppers)
3. 1 Red capsicum ( red bell pepper)
4. 1 Yellow capsicum ( yellow bell pepper) if you want to indulge in that
5. 1 bunch of Spring onions
6. 1 Tomato
7. Parsley (if you like)
8. Oregano ( if you like)
9. Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese
10. Olive Oil
11. Basil (if you can get it)

Directions :

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Cut the loaf of bread in the middle, but be careful not to cut it all the way to the bottom. Then make cuts across the middle ( you should be able to make at least 10 such cuts) , again making sure you don't go all the way in the middle; they should look like grooves. The idea is that you should be able to tear each small piece when you begin to eat. On a baking sheet/pan, place a sheet of aluminum foil and put the bread on it.

Put a good amount of cheese in the grooves of the bread, this will help the vegetables stay in place when the cheese melts. Finely chop all the vegetables and stuff the bread with it. Don't worry about people not getting the vegetables, it'll just be an added effort on their part ;). Once that is done, put the rest of the cheese on top. Coat the top with some chopped parsley and oregano. You can add other herbs that you would like but I wouldn't go too overboard. Drizzle olive oil on the bread.

Cover the bread with the aluminum foil and place it in the preheated oven for 15 mins. Then unwrap the bread and leave it in there for another 15 mins. And you are done

You can serve it as is or you can serve with a dipping oil.

For the dipping oil, chop the basil finely. Pour olive oil in it and let it sit for about 15-20 mins. This should add a lot of flavor to your olive oil. Serve it with your bread.

Have fun

~Shreyasee