So first off I have to confess, I’ve never been a huge tomato fan. Store bought or fresh from the garden they just have never been my thing. As an adult I have grown to love a good BLT (made with only the most fresh and perfectly ripe tomatoes of course) Another dish that I surprisingly have come to love is Bruschetta with tomatoes and basil. I’ve read many recipes and the long shpeels people write about what is and isn’t Bruschetta and the recipe I use isn’t fully authentic but I love it so I’m going to share it despite its inauthenticity. I’m sorry to my friends that truly know Italian food. ☺️
Try this recipe you will love it provided you have these two things…
1- Amazing artisan-type bread of some sort (hard crust, not soft french bread!)
2- Good delicious ripe Roma (or other plum type) tomatoes.
If you have those (and some kind of bacon to sprinkle on top according to my husband) you are golden and will enjoy a delicious treat that makes for a great appetizer, lunch, or light dinner. (You can pair it with pasta or soup)
Enjoy!
Bruschetta with tomato topping
6 or 7 ripe roma tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread
1/4 cup olive oil or butter
Chop up the tomatoes finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4 Heat pan on med-high.
Slice the bread in about 1/2 inch thick slices. Pour a couple tablespoons of Olive oil in hot pan and add 4 slices of bread (well, that’s how many I fit in my pan)
Toast lightly on each side in frying pan, about a minute per side.
Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve. If you top each slice with the tomatoes, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.
*You can skip mincing or pressing the garlic and just rub a garlic clove on the bread after you toast it. I have read this is more traditional. I however just use my garlic press and add the garlic in with the tomatoes etc
Also it’s really good with just a bit of grated parmesan sprinkler on top.
