Threads of silk and gold inspired bruschetta with jewels

It is always a relief to find a restaurant that caters for both the hungry and the discerning. The Ashmolean Dining Room is a modern restaurant in the ancient, recently refurbished Ashmoleum museum, Oxford and it looks after its customers really quite well. It is situated on the top floor of the museum and enjoys fine views of the city's iconic roofscape. 

It is a rather good place to eat a light lunch especially if you are visiting an exhibition. The staff are quick to attend, happy to serve their generous starters for lunch and they get meals out to diners smartly. And if you choose simply you can get a delicious, satisfying lunch in the restaurant for about the same price as in the more ordinary cafe downstairs. 

I have lived in Yorkshire for 30 years but I was born in Oxfordshire and visit Oxford frequently. I spent a year living in the city as a postgraduate student and have loved the Ashmoleum since being taken there as a child to see the collection of Egyptian Mummies. I also remember seeing an exhibition of JRR Tolkein's Father Christmas letters at the museum - a series of beautifully illustrated letters by Tolkein for his young children. Tolkein's illustrations certainly sparked my interest in drawing.

The 'Threads of silk and gold' exhibition of Japanese textiles currently showing at the museum reminds us of the importance of colour and texture in our lives. Fine tapestries of exquisite design and intricate stitch work also remind us of the importance of craft skills. So with thoughts of beautiful designs, colours and texures I went to eat in the restaurant in the museum. 

Just a simple salad of soft goats cheese, caramelised squash, pretty dressed leaves scattered with toasted pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries and served with artisan bread was substantial enough to appease my hunger and colourful enough to catch my eye.

In this week's blog I have turned this jewel dotted salad into a topping for bruschetta which proved very popular with my book club chums last night. So while we discussed the whys and wherefores of Julian Barnes's 'The Sense of and Ending' and the extraordinary journey Jeanette Winterson made to adulthood in 'Why be happy when you could be normal' we crunched our way through some colourful bruschetta washed down with lots of wine.

This bruschetta does not have a precise recipe as the only thing that needs cooking is the bread. 

I used slices of the lovely Olive, lemon and thyme ciabatta cooked to the recipe I found in the Times in a feature about the Handmade Bakery at Slaithwaite, from an earlier post. 

Just brush slices of bread with a little olive oil and toast on a griddle if you have one. Otherwise place the slices of bread in a hot oven for a few minutes. When golden rub with a little garlic and top with a few cubes of roasted butternut squash, a little goats cheese crumbled from a log or small pack and scatter with lightly dressed leaves, dried cranberries and toasted pumpkin seeds. Drizzle a little balsamic glaze or maple syrup to finish - if you have some. Otherwise a little honey dressing will do. My simple recipe is written in note form above and I couldn't quite decide which photograph I liked best and so have left you with several. 

The magic of the dish served at the Ashmolean was the jewel like, deep pink, dried cranberries contrasted with the dark green toasted pumpkin seeds. Dark green and pink go so well together. They just looks so pretty. 


Next time you are roasting butternut squash leave some on one side and try this recipe out. It can be made from left overs - well almost - and makes a great lunch or first course dish.  

ps....you might be wondering if we had anything else to nibble on through our grueling double bill book club.....yes we did (see below). The Florentines were made by Bettys. I made the candied peel and dipped thin strips in chocolate. While I was at it I twisted back the papery leaves of physalis and plunged the orange fruit in the molten chocolate and then placed on silicone paper on a tray in the fridge to allow the chocolate to set. I didn't have time to make Florentines yesterday but will try very soon. Bettys were delicious and will be hard to beat. Perhaps the high price tag will provide the incentive.