Bruschetta Recipe
Gosh, how consistently inconsistent am I?
Summer's here although it still feels like spring. Oh well, as long as its not snowing, I'll take it.
One of the best things about summer is the produce.
Its almost embarrassing to say it but my retail therapy has taken on a completely different meaning now a days. I'm truly happy when I go shopping for fruits and veggies!
The market is full of gorgeous, ripe and luscious fruits and quite a few of them are organic at very reasonable prices. Yah!
Mangoes and cherries and berries... oh my!
I'm in fruit heaven, if there is such a thing.
Oh and I have to share... look at this pretty heirloom tomato I picked up the other day.
One of my favorite things to make during summers is Bruschetta.
I just love the combination of tomatoes with olive oil, balsamic and garlic. I usually don't make this in winters because the tomatoes taste like nothing. So to make up for it, we eat it fairly often at this time of the year when the tomatoes are oh so flavorful.
Don't go putting them in the fridge now... they lose flavor immediately.
So yeah... we eat it very often as an appetizer although I have been known to make a meal out of it. Make some soup and some good cheese and you have a nice summery meal.
If you eat this at a restaurant, they usually have the tomatoes without seeds. I usually leave everything in for a more rustic appeal. (Actually, I'm just lazy and the seeds have Vitamin C in them so its hard to justify discarding them)
By Bharti
Ingredients
- french baguette sliced into thin slices
- 6-8 plum tomatoes chopped with or w/o seeds
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh basil leaves chopped or 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 or 2 cloves whole garlic slightly crushed
- salt
- crushed black pepper
Method
In a bowl, place the chopped tomatoes and basil. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add the seasonings and crushed garlic. Let the mixture sit for 15-20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375. Place the sliced bread on a baking sheet and bake for a few minutes till toasted. If you like a strong garlic flavor, rub the toast with a piece of garlic.
To serve: Top each slice of the mixture with 1-2 tablespoons of the tomato mixture. Eat right away!
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