Bruschetta - a classic Italian recipe that can be served as light dinner, appetizer or a crowd-pleasing DIY bruschetta spread. Made with fresh simple garden ingredients topped on slices of crusty bread. It's a winning party recipe. So simple yet so good!
4-5ripe roma tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs, 2-21/2 cups)
¼cupfinely chopped red onion
¼cupfresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
2cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2teaspoonsbalsamic vinegar
½teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
¾teaspoonsalt, more or less to taste
1baguette French bread or similar Italian bread
2tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
Wash and finely dice tomatoes using a sharp knife, taking out the seeds and jelly interior to avoid a runny topping; lightly drain.
In a large bowl, combine diced tomatoes, finely chopped onions and sliced basil and stir.
In a small bowl combine; garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, black pepper and salt. Pour mixture into tomatoes, mix rigorously and allow to stand at room temperature for about 1 hour to help make the flavors soak and blend together. This makes it real juicy.
Cut the baguette diagonally into ¾ inch thick using a bread knife. With a brush or spoon, spread melted butter and garlic mix on the sliced bread. Toast bread in a pan coated with oil or melted butter until it is lightly browned. If using the oven to toast, preheat oven to 400°F grease a baking sheet with olive oil and lay bread slices, bake both sides until lightly brown.
Top bread with bruschetta and serve.
Notes
Either serve the toasts plain with a bowl of the bruschetta on the side for people to top their own, or use a spoon to gently top each toasted bread with bruschetta. If you top each slice individually, do it right before serving.
You can toast the bread ahead of time and add the topping when you are ready to serve.
Use sturdy bread to easily hold in the tomato topping.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.