Peach season is in full bloom here in Ontario and what better way to celebrate this delicious stone fruit than as the centrepiece of a summerlicious bruschetta recipe. This fancy appetizer consists of crusty baguette slices, spread with a creamy, buttery basil macadamia nut cheese, and topped with a sweet peach salsa. It’s seriously heaven on a plate and perfect to whip up for your next backyard BBQ party. It got rave reviews when I recently served it to a group of omnivore friends—in fact, most of them asked for seconds!

I’ve made a similar recipe many times before, using this delicious macadamia cheese and a standard tomato-based bruschetta topping. This version, however, lends that sweet summertime twist to a familiar dinner party staple.

If you have gluten allergies and don’t want to use bread, I’d suggest using the toppings in corn tortilla cups (broil very briefly to soften the cheese) or to stuff in mushrooms (bake until soft). Enjoy!

Summertime bruschetta

Yield: about 20 pieces

Ingredients:

For the peach salsa:

• 4 small peaches, peeled and pitted
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

For the macadamia nut cheese:

• 1 cup raw macadamia nuts
• 1.5 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 large or 2 small baguettes

Directions:

1. To make the peach salsa, add the peaches, grape tomatoes, onion, parsley and basil to a food processor and pulse to break up the large pieces. Add the remaining salsa ingredients and pulse until desired consistency is achieved.
2. Strain the mixture in a colander to remove excess liquid. Allow the mixture to sit in the colander while you make the macadamia nut cheese.
3. Rinse and dry your food processor. To make the nut cheese, process the macadamia nuts, nutritional yeast, basil, lemon juice, garlic and salt until combined.
4. To make the bruschetta, slice the baguette into 1-inch slices. Spread on the nut cheese and then top with salsa. Broil at 500F for about 5 minutes, or until the edges of the bread is crusty and browned. Serve immediately. Any remaining nut cheese and salsa can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Macadamia cheese adapted from Angela's recipe.