Bruschetta
I mean come on now! This dish screams Italian! It even has all the colors of the Italian flag in it! One bite and I’m already talking with my hands and yelling DELICIOUSO! I’m calling my boys by their Italian middle names! “Giovani, Giordano, andiamo!!!! Mangia! Mangia!!!”
I love the vibrant reds of the vine ripe tomatoes, the luscious greens of the fresh basil, with the angel soft snow of parmesan reggiano blanketed over these little magic carpets of deliciousness! It is the perfect bite too….crispy baguettes on the bottom with tangy and juicy mounds of goodness and freshness on top. I love to serve this as an appetizer before a great meal. I have also been known to enjoy as a light lunch with a small arugula salad and a great glass of wine (surprise, surprise!). I used vine ripe tomatoes but you can truly use anything you have on hand. I have made it with cherry tomatoes, large tomatoes, roma tomatoes…use what you have. The best part is it is quick and easy to put together and your guests will devour it!
Recipe
Bruschetta
1 loaf crusty bread
3 garlic cloves, peeled (2 finely chopped)
2 packs vine ripe tomatoes (each tomato is about size of a golf ball…I cut each one into fourths).
1 small bunch fresh basil (chopped or chiffonade)
4-5 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon champagne vinegar
pinch of salt and pepper
Parmesan Reggiano, shaved (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice loaf or baguette into diagonal slices about 1” thick. Rub each piece with the one peeled, whole garlic clove to get a little bit of it’s goodness on one side of each slice. Place the bread on cookie sheet with the garlic side facing up. Place in oven for roughly 5 minutes or until golden brown…keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn! When golden brown take out of oven to cool a minute.
In a medium size mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and stir well. Best to let sit for at least 30 minutes at room temperature (so you can do this in advance…and maybe enjoy a glass of wine!).
When ready to prepare, stir everything one more time. Arrange baguette slices on a platter and then spoon a mound of this goodness over each piece of bread. Make sure every toast has some on it. Then make sure to spook up the juices from the marinade it created and spoon it lightly over the top of all the slices so each piece gets some.
The last step is optional but how can you not go all the way?! Take a wedge of parmesan reggiano and shave a light blanket of cheese over all the slices. Again, as much as you like, quanto basta baby!!
Wipe the drool from your mouth and then dive right in…try not to snort (although no one would judge you!)!
