Tomato – Basil Bruschetta Recipe

Bruschetta is by far one of the easiest, fastest & great tasting appetizers of all time in my books. There are many variations of this delicious Italian appetizer recipe out there. I like it simple; the few flavours that are present blend together beautifully, creating a fresh aroma that will drive you & anyone else around you crazy while you’re prepping… I can hardly keep myself from taking a spoon and just digging into it…

 I’ve been asked to feature this recipe on my blog by quite a few people already, so without further ado, I present to you Tomato & Basil Bruschetta.

You will need the following ingredients…

Roma Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Red Onion, Garlic, French or Italian Baguette, Mozzarella Cheese, Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar

Start by slicing the baguette onto medium slices on a 45 degree angle…

Next, line a baking sheet with wax paper. I do this, because one of my most loathed things is to wash/clean/scrub baked on foods off of the sheet later on. Basically, because I am lazy! At least, I admit it . You can either do the same, or spray the sheet with cooking oil, in order to prevent things from sticking to the bottom later. Arrange the bread on the baking sheet, and brush on lightly with some extra virgin olive oil…

And set it aside for now. You won’t need it until the very end.

You’re finally ready to start the bruschetta mix! Are you exited?

You should be!

Start by cutting off the ends of the tomato…

And then cut it length wise into ovals…

And then cut the ovals diagonally into thin slices…

And dice up into small pieces…

So it looks something like this… And remember, the smaller you cut, the more delicate and easy to eat the final product will be…

Now move on to the red onion. Start by cutting off both ends, then peel off the skin…

Cut the onion in half…

And then slice into the onion lengthwise, making sure you don’t cut all the way across, so it’s easier to dice later. You can hold on to the end, which you don’t slice into… I hope it makes sense…

Now just dice up the onion into small pieces and add to the bowl with diced tomatoes…

You’re ready for the best part… Fresh basil! It’s one of my favourite smells ever… Mmm so full of flavour: the smell of basil reminds me of summer for some reason!

Cut the bunch in half, and put the two halves together for easy chopping…

Finely chop up the basil…

Now press the garlic into the bowl with the tomatoes, red onion & basil mixture

Mix all the ingredients together using a wooden spoon…

Now drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil

And the balsamic vinegar. Add salt & pepper to taste and mix well together.

Pre-heat the oven to Broil High and place the baking sheet with the bread to just toast them a bit. NOTE: Depending on the strength of your oven, it can take anywhere between 1-2 mins for the bread to get toasty. MAKE SURE, you keep checking every 30 seconds, because believe me, I learnt the hard way, how easy it is to burn the bread in there… It wasn’t fun last time, having to run out to the grocery store to get another baguette. So, keep checking on the bread and take it out once it gets a little golden tan

Now I should mention this as a side notes: The juice from the tomatoes comes out quite a lot and makes the whole thing very watery, which is not good. So I usually drain out and get rid of almost half of the watery juice, and leave a bit in it so it’s not too dry.

Now you are ready to place this aromatic goodness on top of the bread. Using a table spoon, put a generous amount of the bruschetta mix onto the bread…

This part is optional… I love cheese, so I add some shredded mozzarella cheese to mine, but you don’t have to. It will taste just as good without it as it does with. Totally up to you!

Because I love bruschetta so much, every time I make it, I always make double the portion, so I can make it two days in a row. This time I had about half the amount left. So I put it in a glass container with a lid and put in the fridge until tomorrow. I’d say, don’t leave it for more than a day, because the mixtures will be too watery and soggy… But it’s good for one day…

Mmm… Looking at this picture, I can almost smell the yummy aroma & I just want to grab a spoon and eat it like a salad… YUM!

Now, if you are using the cheese, it has to go back in the oven at Broil High, for about a minute or so, or just until the cheese melts and starts to get nice golden color.

And voila… plate the pieces onto a platter and serve!

Tomato – Basil Bruschetta
Makes: 20 – 24 pieces 
Time: 15-20 min to prepare, 3-4 min bake time 

Ingredients:

8 Whole Roma Tomatoes, finely diced
1 bunch Fresh Basil, finely chopped
2 whole French / Italian Baguette, sliced at a 45 degree angle
1 whole, large Red Onion finely diced 
4 cloves pressed garlic
2 – 3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Salt & Pepper to taste

Try this easy Bruschetta recipe at your next dinner, and I promise you’ll be in love! And everyone at the table will be in love… and you’ll be forced to make this at least once every few weeks. And why shouldn’t you? It’s easy and fast to prepare and it’s a classic Italian Appetizer. Who doesn’t like Bruschetta? Unless of course, you have some sort of an allergy to tomatoes or another ingredient, I don’t see how you can not like it..

Try it and let me know what you think!

Bon Appétit!