Garlic Bread Exotica - Pizza hut style

I love garlic bread. And especially the ones from Pizza hut. And specifically the Garlic Bread exotica they have, loaded with veggies and topped generously with cheese… A generous sprinkle of mixed herbs on top… and may be some chili flakes to add to the heat… and it’s one perfect starter…. Especially to an Italian course.

When I bought the baguette bread last time - well, I wanted to make it myself, but was tempted to buy it when the store smelled of freshly baked bread - a piece of heaven. So when I bought it, I knew I had to make the Garlic Bread Exotica with it. Had all the lovely colored bell peppers/capsicums; and we both love loads of garlic… So the weekend brunch featured this.

It is quite an easy thing to fix - just chop the veggies, make the garlic spread… top with toppings and bake - that’s it! Of course, if you’re a food blogger, u have the additional task of arranging them beautifully and clicking them - in my case, I outsourced it to D, while I prepared the salad :D

So here goes the recipe…

Garlic Bread Exotica

Preparation Time: 10-15 min

Baking Time: ~15 min

Serves: 2 as a meal; 4 as a starter

Ingredients:

Colored bell peppers/Capsicum - 3/4 cup, chopped (I used a mix of green, red and yellow)
Onions - One small, chopped
fresh/frozen corn kernels - 1/4 cup

Cheese - 1/4 -1/3 cup, grated (mozzarella or cheddar)
1 tsp red chili flakes

Salt to taste
A Baguette or French/Italian bread

For Garlic Spread:
Olive oil or Melted Butter - 3 Tbsp, at room temperature
Garlic - 6-8 pods, very finely chopped
Mixed Italian herbs - 1 tsp -  I use thyme and oregano
Coarsely ground pepper - 1/2 tsp (vary acc to taste)
Green chilies - 2, finely chopped (only for an added extra-spice)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 170 deg C
• Line a large baking tray with foil or parchment and set aside
• Heat butter /olive oil on a low flame and add the finely chopped garlic, Italian herbs and green chilies, ground pepper and let it warm and keep aside.
• Cut the baguette into 1" thick slices diagonally
• Mix all the chopped vegetables peppers, corn, onions in a bowl, add salt
• Take each slice of the bread and apply garlic spread with a silicon brush and put a Tbsp of mixed vegetables over it
• Sprinkle red chili flakes and top it with cheese (the more, the merrier ;) )
• Arrange on the prepared baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes and then broil it for 2-3 min until the edges of bread are slightly crisp and the cheese starts melting.
• Have warm as a side with a pasta dish or a pasta salad or a starter for a pizza meal
• Or best, have it as a snack, all by itself :)

Notes:

• Can use tomatoes as well, but I am averse to them :)

This post is for the Bake-A-Thon event by Champa. These are the other co-bloggers baking with me... 
Champa, Srivalli Jetti, Priya Suresh, Veena Krishna Kumar and Preeti Deo.