Perhaps calling a recipe “perfect” seems a bit big-headed, but just taste this and you’ll see why; I certainly didn’t invent the tomato bruschetta (and have never even been to Italy) but have recently become literally obsessed by it!
Tomato Bruschetta
It all started a few months ago when we went for weekend to London, sitting in a small Italian restaurant somewhere in Soho. Not my first bruschetta by far, but the first that made me really realise that you can make a perfect starter with nothing much more than tomatoes and bread.
Various tips from the internet and a lot of trialling have resulted in what I now believe is the perfect tomato bruschetta. I hope you will agree!
Recipe: Perfect Tomato Bruschetta
This bruschetta makes a great appetiser or a perfect summer lunch.
Ingredients
- 1 Ciabatta (cut in half lengthways and then in half across the centre, creating four roughly equal size pieces)
- Vine tomatoes (amount entirely dependant upon the size of the tomatoes. Coverage per bruschetta should be roughly as in the photograph)
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- Extra Virgin Olive oil
- Approx 6 basil leaves
Method
- Heat up a grill or griddle pan and toast the bread until the top is lightly crispy
- Cut the garlic cloves in half (i.e. four pieces of garlic for four slice of bread) and rub the cut end on top of the bread. The juice will soak into the surface.
- Drizzle the bread with the olive oil.
- Peel the tomatoes. To do this simply score a cross on the top and bottom with a knife, place in a pan and pour over just boiled water. Leave for one minute, drain, and then fill up with cold water before draining again. The skins will now just slip off.
- Dice the tomatoes into rough 2cm cubes. Some people de-seed at this point, I don’t bother – you’ll see why in a moment.
- Place the tomatoes in a bowl and drizzle with more olive oil. Tear up the basil leaves into the bowl and sprinkle with a little sea salt and ground black pepper.
- Mix well with your hands.
- Leave everything to stand for approximately 1 hour; this is important!
- Scoop the tomato mix out by hand giving a gentle squeeze to remove excess juice and seeds. Spread liberally on top of the bread.
Quick notes
You’ll notice that there’s a lot of tasty juice left in the bowl when you’ve finished. I’m sure you can put it to good use in your cooking somewhere but since I’m a glutton I just drink it straight from the bowl, and advise you to do the same!
Preparation time: 1 hour(s) 15 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4
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