To begin making the Broccoli Pesto Open Toast we will firstly make the pesto.

Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil, turn off the heat. Place the broccoli in a large sieve and lower it into the boiled water, leaving it there for about 2-3 minutes. You want the broccoli to soften, but not cooked. Remove broccoli from the water and rinse with cold water. Keep aside in a bowl until required.

In a food processor, grind the garlic and almonds with a little bit of salt. Add the blanched broccoli, basil and grind once more into a coarse paste.

Add the cheese and olive oil to the paste in small quantity at a time and grind once again till you get a smooth pesto. 

To make the topping for the open toast, heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and saute till they turn soft.

Season with mixed Italian herbs and saute for few seconds. Turn off the heat. Add the halved cherry tomatoes, salt and pepper, stir to combine. You want the tomatoes to absorb the flavours but not get cooked completely.

At this stage you can choose to serve the Open Toast, chilled as it is or bake in in the oven. These toasts make great picnic snacks, where you simple spread the Broccoli Pesto and the tomatoes and serve.

Proceed with the steps below if you wish to grill and serve.

To assemble the toast, preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. Line a baking tray with the aluminum foil.

Arrange slices of bread on the sheet.

Spread the pesto generously on each bread slice. Top with the tomato mixture and if you desire, a little bit of cheddar cheese. Bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes until the bread is toasted. 

You can grill the toast in the griddle pan as well. Heat a teaspoon of oil over medium heat in the pan. Layer bread slices with broccoli pesto and herbed tomato mixture. Sprinkle grated cheese on top of each bread slice.

Arrange bread slices in the hot grill pan and cook till bread slices are nicely toasted and cheese is melted. 

Serve Broccoli Pesto Open Toasts hot along with Potato and Chickpea Salad for quick weeknight meal.