Friday, June 5, 2009

Bruschetta and Toasted Bread Crisps - Getting Ready for Tomato Season

It's not quite time for really good garden-fresh tomatoes, but tomatoes are on my mind.

I love bruschetta served on crispy toasted bread. And I used to buy a jar of prepared bruschetta that was really good. It came from Costco and I bought a couple of jars whenever I visited my friend Kerry in Virginia.

So the other day, when I found a similar jar of bruschetta at my local Sam's Club, I couldn't wait to try it. Alas, it was not as good as the brand from Costco. Back to the drawing board!

The ingredients are few and the preparation is simple, so when I found myself with an extra loaf of French bread the other day, I decided to make my own bruschetta. Good enough for me and good enough to share.

Now I'm just waiting for those really, really good tomatoes from the garden.

Grow . . grow . . . grow faster little tomatoes.


BRUSCHETTA
3 c. diced fresh tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
8-10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
pinch of kosher salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and let sit at room temperature for a while before serving with toasted bread crisps. Note: So how do you pronounce it? The ch in Italian has a k sound, the e has a long a sound. Bruschetta sounds like – Bruce-Kate-Tah

TOASTED BREAD CRISPS
1 loaf French baguette or Italian bread
extra virgin olive oil
garlic salt

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Slice bread into ¼-inch rounds and lay flat on baking sheet. Brush each slice of bread with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle lightly with garlic salt. Place on center rack of oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from heat and cool. Bread crisps may be stored in a zip bag. Note: Rub bread slices with a cut clove of garlic, instead of using garlic salt, if desired. Note: Day old or stale bread is perfect for toasting this way.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yummy! I use a garlicboss to rub garlic on my bread slices. It adds great flavor. I love bruschetta:)

BMK said...

I love bruschetta for a summer appetizer. There is nothing better than garden fresh tomatoes.