Bruschetta or should I say “Brusketta” is the best kind of food! A classic Italian appetizer that is perfect in its simplicity. A must-try and a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
Toasty bread smothered with garlic and combined with fresh or slightly roasted tomatoes! Top it off with feta cheese or buffalo mozzarella and a drizzle of sweet balsamic reduction – it is a match made in heaven.
Always use the freshest, juiciest and ripest tomatoes for your bruschetta. We usually use Roma tomatoes when having the tomatoes fresh, just lightly tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper. And Cherry tomatoes when we want to have slightly roasted ones as they are bite sizes. When in season, you may mix and match the different varieties of tomatoes for different color and flavor profile.
If you have an abundance of tomato supply, check out our other tomatoey recipes like our hearty Tomato Soup or our Oven cooked Fish with Tomato Chutney
Tips & Tricks
- If you are roasting your cherry tomatoes, keep them whole when roasting them as they will retain maximum juice.
- For the fresh tomato version bruschetta, use a fork to scoop the tomatoes out of the mixing bowl. This will ensure that the excess juices from the diced tomatoes do not make the toasty slices of bread soggy.
- To create a beautiful “chiffonade” of basil leaves, stack the leaves one on top of each other and roll them into a cigar like shape, then roughly chop them. This will prevent you from over chopping and bruising the leaves.
- For the bread, you want to use some crusty rustic artisan styled bread. Pane di casa, sourdough or ciabatta bread are all good choices.
- Bruschetta is best served immediately. The tomatoes tend to lose their freshness and the bread can go soggy if it soaks up the juices of the tomatoes.
Classic Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil
Course: From the Kitchen, Something LightCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy6
serves45
minutesThis bruschetta recipe is fresh, colorful and packed full of flavors. Easy to put together, it’s perfection in its simplicity.
Ingredients
- Balsamic Glaze
237ml (1 cup) balsamic vinegar
- Roasted Tomato version
30 cherry tomatoes
Handful of basil leaves
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste
- Fresh Tomato version
7 medium tomatoes
Handful of basil leaves
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste
- For the Bread
6 slices of rustic bread (approx 5 X 10 cm)
3 gloves of garlic (or more if you’re a garlic lover)
Extra virgin olive oil
- To Assemble
Small basil leaves
Balsamic glaze
1 ball of buffalo mozzarella or 12-18 cubes of feta cheese
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Directions
- For the Balsamic Glaze
- Pour the balsamic vinegar in a saucepan
- Bring the vinegar to a boil on high heat
- Once the vinegar starts boiling, reduce the heat to low and allow the vinegar to simmer and reduce for about 5-7mins. Swirl the saucepan occasionally and make sure to keep an eye on it as the vinegar can quickly burn.
- The glaze is ready when it coats the back of a spoon
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the glaze in a container and allow it to completely cool down
- For the Roasted Tomatoes
- Preheat oven to 200C/390F
- Lay your cherry tomatoes on a baking tray
- Generously coat them with olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper
- Pop the tray in the oven and allow the tomatoes to roast for 10-15mins. You know they are ready when they start to release their juices, but are still holding their shape
- Remove the tray from the oven and allow the tomatoes to cool down
- Meanwhile, roughly chop your basil leaves
- Once cooled, put the tomatoes in a mixing bowl and toss in the basil leaves and set aside
- For the Fresh Tomatoes
- Dice the tomatoes in cubes of about 1cm
- In a mixing bowl, toss the tomatoes with salt and pepper to taste and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Ensure the tomatoes are evenly coated and seasoned
- Roughly chop your basil leaves and add them to the mixing bowl, then set aside
- For the Bread
- Slice the bread into 1.5-2cm thick slices
- Peel your garlic gloves
- If using a toaster: Toast your bread first, then while they are still warm, take the garlic glove and rub it all over the crispy slices. Afterwards, drizzle one side with extra virgin olive oil
- If using a griddle pan: Drizzle, on both sides, the slices of bread with olive oil and grill them until golden and crispy. Then while still warm, rub the garlic clove all over the crispy bread.
- To Assemble
- Place your bread slices on your serving plate
- Pile a generous amount of tomato onto each bread
- To finish, garnish with small basil leaves, crumbed feta or mozzarella and a drizzle of balsamic glaze
