There are few things I love more than bruschetta. The grilled, buttery bread. The beautiful tomatoes. The scrumptious basil. It's the perfect snack, unless you eat 12 pieces like do. Then it's more like a meal. I’ve loved bruschetta for more than half my life and used to regularly devour it during my vegetarian days, before Marlboro Man roped my heart and introduced me to the world of steak cooked in sizzling butter.
Bruschetta is divine during the summer when tomatoes and fresh basil are in season, but guess what? Cherry tomatoes and basil can be found year-round in most grocery stores, so don't let the season stop you from devouring this recipe. You can even toast the bread and put together the tomato mixture a few hours in advance and assemble when your gang gets hungry.
What is bruschetta and how do you eat it?
Hardly anything makes my tastebuds jump up and down and do flip-flops more than bruschetta. It's a finger food made with toasted bread that'stopped with cherry tomatoes that have marinated with fresh basil, balsamic, and garlic. Mmm. It's a great easy appetizer because it looks elegant but it's exceedingly simple.
What is the best bread for bruschetta?
Any sort ofbread sturdy and crusty enough to holdup to bruschetta toppings will work! Italian bread such a ciabattaor French bread like baguette are ideal.I like slicing up a whole baguette into diagonal slices so there's plenty of surface area to hold the tomatoes.Don't slice the bread too thin or it could get soggy and fall apart, but don't slice it too thick either: The tomatoes are the star of the show and it should remain that way.
Is bruschetta meant to be served hot or cold?
It's fine if the toastedbread is still a hint warm, but you want the tomato mixture to be cool! Allowing the tomatoes, basil, and garlic, and balsamic to hang out in the fridge for an hour or sohelps all the flavors blend. When those juicy tomatoes hit the buttery bread it's the most perfect combination ever!
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- Yields:
- 12 serving(s)
- Prep Time:
- 20 mins
- Cook Time:
- 10 mins
- Total Time:
- 30 mins
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp.
olive oil
- 5
cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 pt.
red grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
- 1 pt.
yellow grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
- 1 Tbsp.
balsamic vinegar
- 16
whole basil leaves (chiffonade)
Salt and pepper to taste (don't oversalt!)
- 1
whole baguette
- 8 Tbsp.
butter
Directions
- Step1In a small skillet, heat theolive oil over medium-high heat. Add thegarlic and stir, lightly frying for about a minute, removing before the garlic gets too brown (it can be golden.) Pour into a mixing bowl and allow to cool slightly.
- Step2Add thetomatoes, balsamic, basil, and salt, and pepper to the bowl. Toss to combine, then taste and add more basil if needed, and more salt if needed (don't oversalt, though!) Cover and refrigerate for an hour or two if you have the time.
- Step3Cut the baguette into diagonal slices to allow for the most surface area possible. Melt half ofthe butter in a large skillet and toast half the bread on both sides, making sure they're nice and buttery. Cook until golden brown on both sides. Repeat with the other half of the butter and the other half of the bread.
- Step4To serve, give the tomato mixture a final stir, then spoon generously over the slices of bread. Serve on a big platter as a first course or appetizer.
Hardly anything makes my tastebuds jump up and down and do flip-flops more than bruschetta. I’ve loved it for more than half my life and used to regularly devour it during my vegetarian days, before Marlboro Man roped my heart and introduced me to the world of steak cooked in sizzling butter. And I still love it today every bit as much as I ever did.
Here’s the thing about Bruschetta: It can be a snack. It can be an appetizer. It can be a salad. It can even be a main course if the whole “Where’s the Beef?” thing isn’t an issue for you.
Either way, it’s divine. And it’s so very, very easy to make.
The Cast of Characters: Red grape (or cherry) tomatoes, yellow grape (or cherry) tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh basil, baguette, and (not pictured) salt, pepper, and butter.
Slice the tomatoes in half lengthwise…
Then do the same with the yellow. Eat two. Repeat as necessary.
Chop up a bunch of pre-peeled garlic cloves using this chopper contraption, because if you’re like me, this is your new favorite way to quickly chop a bunch of garlic…
Then heat some olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat and throw in the garlic.
Stir it around for less than a minute, just to get the flavors going and to brown it just a bit…but don’t let it burn!
Then throw it—olive oil and all—into a bowl and let it cool for just a bit.
You might stop a few seconds earlier than I did so it’s a little more “golden” than “golden brown.”
Don’t be like me, is what I’m saying.
Meanwhile, grab some basil leaves and stack them on top of one another…
Then roll them up tightly…
And slice them into strips. You’ll need a whole bunch more than this. I’m just demonstrating.
Next, throw the red tomatoes into the bowl…
Followed by the yellow tomatoes…
A little balsamic…
The basil…
And a little salt and pepper. Not too much salt! Start light and work your way up if necessary.
Next, stir it to combine and give it a taste, adding more of whatever you think it needs. I added a bunch more basil…
And a tiny splash of more balsamic.
Now, you can use this right away, but I think it’s better if you can let it sit (either on the countertop or in the fridge) for an hour or so, just to let the flavors meet and mingle and fall in love and procreate.
Sorry. Strange visual. Let’s move on.
Now for the baguette! You can cut straight, round-ish slices of the bread if you’d like the pieces to be on the small side. Or you can cut extreme diagonal pieces like this, to allow for more surface area.
More surface area = More stuff on top.
I vote for more surface area.
You can toast the pieces of bread in the oven, dry. But why in the world would you want to do that when you can brown them in butter in a skillet?
Mmmmm, baby. This is what makes bruschetta divine. Well, this and the tomatoes, basil, garlic, and balsamic.
Never mind.
Oh, and another note about the bread: Sometimes I grill the bread on a grill pan so it has nice grill marks. This is pretty, too. But it just never seems to have the crisp, buttery, flavorful quality that this skillet stuff has.
To serve, arrange the bread pieces on a large platter and heap the tomato mixture onto each piece.
Then serve it as an appetizer, a first course…or just a snack while you’re watching Inception.
Inception has taken over my life. I just thought you should know this about me.
Enjoy this, my friends! It’s one of the most delicious things you’ll ever put in your mouth.
Here’s the handy dandy printable:
