This crunchy, chewy, creamy, tangy, savory, satisfying bruschetta is ideal for a light lunch or a hearty appetizer. The coarse salt adds both crunch and an explosion of flavor but feel free to use fine salt if you want a more blended seasoning. This is an excellent dish for entertaining as all the components can easily be made hours ahead of time and assembled just before serving. The leftover chickpea filling is terrific served on a salad, warmed and plated under lamb chops, or used to stuff chicken breasts with the addition of a mild melting cheese such as fontina or Monterey Jack.

Chickpea and Tomato Bruschetta

Serves 4

Tomatoes
24 cherry tomatoes
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon coarse salt
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil

Chickpeas
15-ounce can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
½ teaspoon coarse salt
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon sumac
1 tablespoon Italian parsley
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons hot water

Bread
8 diagonal slices of sourdough baguette, about ½ inch thick
¼ cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced

To serve: ¼ cup arugula

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Toss the tomatoes with all tomato ingredients in a baking dish large enough to hold the tomatoes in a single layer. Place on the middle shelf of the oven.

2. Mix the chickpeas with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt, turmeric, and sumac in a baking dish that will hold the chickpeas in a single layer. Place in oven with tomatoes.

3. The chickpeas require about 25 minutes to roast and become fragrant; they will still have texture to them. Shake both the chickpea and the tomato pans a few times while cooking. When nicely roasted, remove chickpeas from the oven and lower the temperature to 375° so the tomatoes can stew and collapse on themselves. They require about 40 minutes of cooking time. 

4. Arrange bread slices on a cookie sheet. Mix olive oil and minced garlic in a small bowl. Use a basting brush to coat both sides of the bread with the oil—you don’t want to drench it, just give it a thin coat. If any oil is leftover, add it to the chickpeas when you blend them after baking. Place bread in the oven and give the tomatoes and chickpeas a shake.

5. After the bread has been in the oven for 5 minutes, flip in over. It will take the bread about 10 minutes to turn a nice golden brown. About now, everything should smell delicious. Remove bread and, if ready, chickpeas from the oven and let cool.

6. When chickpeas are cool, place 2 tablespoons olive oil, parsley, and tahini in a small food processor and blend until smooth. Add chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, and hot water. Pulse on and off until blended while still being coarsely chopped. If too thick, add more hot water or olive oil per your preference.

7. Remove tomatoes from the oven when soft. Let cool slightly, then drain off excess oil into a small bowl. When tomatoes and liquid have cooled completely, place arugula in a small bowl and add just enough of the tomato oil to lightly dress.

8. Assemble the bruschetta by placing three roasted tomatoes on each bread slice, top with chickpea spread, followed with arugula. Approximately half of the chickpea spread will be leftover, which is a good thing as it is delicious used in a variety of ways. This bruschetta is meant to be eaten with your hands.