Boo-Schetta: Ghostly Caprese Bites

Boo-Schetta is a fun and ghostly twist on classic Caprese bruschetta. It combines grape tomatoes and fresh basil strips with flavorful olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing for a delicious treat served on toasted French bread. For the "Boo," I used fresh mozzarella shaped like ghosts rather than traditional fresh mozzarella pearls.

The short answer: Boo-Schetta makes 15 bites in about 45 minutes. Each bite is toasted French bread topped with a tomato-and-basil mixture and a mozzarella ghost.

Jump to:

• Quick Look at the Recipe
• Ingredients - Here's What You'll Need
• Making the Ghosts
• Preparing the French Bread
• Making the Caprese Mixture
• Putting It All Together
• PudgeFactor's Test Kitchen Tips
• Need a little help with this recipe?
• Other Halloween Recipes
• Recipe

Quick Look at the Recipe

• Servings: 15
• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 30 minutes
• Total time: 45 minutes
• Difficulty: Easy to moderate
• Equipment: Ghost silicone mold (or 2½-inch by 2-inch ghost cookie cutters), tart tamper, half-sheet pan, small jar with a lid, kitchen shears
• Make ahead: The pizza dough and sauce can be made in advance

Ingredients - Here's What You'll Need

• The Veggies: Grape tomatoes, fresh basil, and fresh garlic.

• The Caprese Dressing: Add garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, Kosher salt, Italian seasoning, and freshly ground black pepper.

• The Bread: Sliced French bread brushed with olive oil for the base of the Caprese Boo-Schetta.

• The "Boo": Sliced mozzarella cheese molded to look like ghosts, garnished with balsamic glaze for the eyes and mouths.

Making the Ghosts

1. Choose the ghost mold: Use a silicone ghost cupcake pan. The ghosts should be 2½ inches high and 2 inches wide.

2. Press in the cheese: Press a slice of fresh mozzarella into each cavity. Each slice weighs around 0.5 ounces.

3. Soften the cheese: Heat the mozzarella cheese in a 350°F oven for 6 minutes to soften it. After 6minutes, remove the pan from the oven and use a tart tamper to press the cheese into the mold. Also, use a paper towel to remove the excess liquid released by the softened cheese.

4. Remove the ghosts: After the molded ghosts reach room temperature, remove them from the mold. Repeat the process two more times for a total of 15 ghosts.

Preparing the French Bread

1. Slice bread: Slice the French bread into ½-inch slices.

2. Brush with olive oil: Place the French bread slices on a half-sheet pan lined with nonstick aluminum foil and brush each piece with olive oil.

3. Toast: Toast the French bread for 6 to 7 minutes per side in a 450°F oven until golden brown.

Making the Caprese Mixture

1. Make the dressing: Add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, salt, Italian seasoning, and black pepper to a small jar with a lid. Seal the lid and shake the jar well to combine the ingredients.

2. Cut the tomatoes: Cut the grape tomatoes in half, then cut them in half crosswise.

3. Cut the basil: Layer fresh basil leaves on top of each other and roll them into a tight cylinder. Then, using kitchen shears, cut the basil into thin strips.

4. Toss: Transfer the cut tomatoes and basil strips to a medium bowl and pour over the dressing. Toss everything together to coat the tomatoes and basil with the dressing.

Putting It All Together

At this point, the mozzarella ghosts were made, the French bread was toasted, and the Caprese mixture was ready. By the way, you could do all of this in advance!

1. Add the tomatoes: Carefully spoon the tomato/basil mixture onto the toasted French bread.

2. Drizzle: For added flavor, drizzle balsamic glaze over the tomato

3. Add the ghosts: Top each bite with a mozzarella ghost. Fill in the eyes and mouth with balsamic glaze, and spread it with a toothpick. The narrow end of a chopstick also works well.

I ended up with 15 ghostly Caprese bites. They were as delicious to eat as they were fun to serve.

So, as you're planning your Halloween festivities, Boo-Schetta is a perfect way to wow your family and friends. Yum!

PudgeFactor's Test Kitchen Tips

• Ghost mold: If you cannot find a suitable ghost silicone mold, you can use ghost cookie cutters. I recommend cookie cutters about 2 ½ inches tall and 2 inches wide. You can use the narrow end of a chopstick to make face indentations.

• Mozzarella: The fresh mozzarella I used had 15 slices.

• Basil: Fresh basil easily bruises. To minimize bruising, I used sharp kitchen shears to cut the basil. However, a very sharp knife would also work.

• Make ahead: The mozzarella ghosts, toasted French bread, and tomato mixture can be prepared in advance.
• Serving: Assemble the bites just before serving. This is because the toasted French bread will soften once you add the tomato mixture.

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Other Halloween Recipes

For other ideas for your Halloween festivities, check out these delicious recipes.

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