If you love Italian food, you’ve probably had Bruschetta a time or two. It’s a simple yet delicious appetizer. This recipe will give you taste that rivals the Bruschetta at some Italian restaurants. It’s evocative of traditional Bruschetta, without the trip to Italy. You can serve it year-round for pretty much any occasion.
Ingredients
Using the freshest, highest-quality ingredients you can get for this dish will give you the best flavors. The ingredients are:
- 2 LBS. of fresh in-season tomatoes. You can use options like Beefsteak, Heirloom, or Roma
- 1/2 a fresh onion
- 1 fresh bunch of basil
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Italian bread or a baguette
Directions
Begin by dicing the tomatoes into small cubes, roughly 1/4″. A sharp knife will help ensure that the tomatoes are sliced well and not crushed or mangled.
Finely chop up your 1/2 onion. You can add it directly to the bowl with your tomatoes raw. You can also saute it first if you don’t like raw onion, or to add extra flavor to your dish.
Next, chop up your 4 cloves of garlic and add it to your bowl.
Cut up your basil and add it in. 3 or 4 leaves may be enough but add to your taste. You can use the chiffonade cutting method for the basil, or you can chop it however works for you.
Once all the cutting is done, add the extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper to the bowl of vegetables. Mix everything so it’s well combined. At this point, you can put the mixture into the fridge for half an hour or so to set and let all the flavors mingle. You can also choose to serve it immediately.
Now, the bread needs to be toasted for serving. If you have a baguette, cut about 1/4″ thick slices. You can toast the bread in a toaster, toaster oven, or carefully under the broiler if you are making a large batch and need more cooked at once. After the bread is toasted to your desired color, take it out and brush each side lightly with the extra virgin olive oil. Finish off by rubbing fresh garlic onto the side of the bread that you will be putting your vegetable mixture onto to give some extra flavor.
The last step is to serve the Bruschetta. Put your bread on the serving plate you will be using and then pile the pieces with your vegetable mixture. Serving immediately is recommended for the best results.