No Butter Garlic Bread

I am a bit of a carb-aholic, and my favourite carbohydrate has to be bread. Chocolates, biscuits and sweets can go untouched for months with me, but I’d happily munch through an entire loaf of crusty bread in one sitting if I let myself. So of course, whenever I have a pasta dish, I always have to have garlic bread with it. The shop-bought garlic breads that you can cook from frozen are great, they’re tasty and easy, but if you’re trying to reduce your fat/dairy intake or wanting to impress at a dinner party, then try my No Butter Garlic Bread recipe. It’s cheap, quick, easy but looks really authentic and impressive when served.

I still have an old George Foreman in my kitchen (remember the Lean, Mean Grilling Machines?) We received it as a house warming gift from my husband’s grandparents when we first moved in together, many, many, moons ago! It still makes great toasties and creates a lovely pattern on the bread for this recipe. But you could also use a griddle pan to get the stripes, or just lightly toast the bread under the grill.

Ingredients

• Sliced crusty bread (Tiger bread and ciabatta work really well. I’ve used a lovely cheese bloomer in the pictures)
• Olive oil
• 1 large garlic clove

Method

• Drizzle the olive oil over the bread and rub in to create an even covering. – Pic 1 and 2
• Lightly toast the bread under a grill/on a griddle pan/ on an old George Foreman like me. – Pic 3
• Peel the garlic clove and rub the raw garlic over the toasted bread, making sure you rub right to the edge for an even flavour. The garlic will be grated onto the bread and warm through as you’re doing it. – Pic 4
• Serve with you favourite pasta dish.