This is one of my favorite appetizers to make when we are having an Italian night in. For a different twist to this recipe, you can also dress all breads with tomato mixture, sprinkle mozzarella over the top & broil in oven just until cheese melts.
8 vine ripe tomatoes, blanched and peeled
6 cloves fresh garlic, (reserve 3 to peel & cut in half and rub over bread slices)
2-3 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Bunch Fresh Basil
Salt (to taste)
Fresh Ground Black Pepper (to taste)
1 Italian Baguette (cut into 1" thick slices, sliced on the bias)
Shredded mozzarella (optional)
Preheat the oven at 350 deg F for the bread. Drizzle olive oil over your bread crostini slices. Place bread in your oven and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, turning once until you have a golden brown. You can also use the broiler, (watching the bread very carefully or you can grill this). After they are out of the oven and have cooled just slightly, rub a garlic clove that has been cut in half over your slices. Sprinkle the slices at the end with a light dash of salt and pepper. Serve crostini with bruschetta.
Prepare an ice bath by putting water with ice into a large bowl (large enough to hold the tomatoes) & set this ice water bath aside. Prepare your tomatoes by rinsing them in cold water and gently scoring them at the bottom by slicing an "X", just to open up the skin. To peel & skin the tomatoes, blanch them first by dropping them carefully into a pot of boiling water. This step only takes about 45 to 60 seconds or so. After the tomatoes are in the boiling water for about a minute, you will see the skins starting to peel off naturally. Carefully pull the tomatoes out of the pot using a large ladle or large spoon and transfer them to the ice bath to cool. After 15-30 seconds, you should be able to peel the skins right off. Transfer the tomatoes to a cutting board.
Begin dicing the tomatoes up, discarding as many seeds as possible, and just keeping the flesh of the tomato. Transfer the diced tomato to a clean bowl. Dice your remaining 3 cloves of garlic and add to the bowl. Continue to add the remaining ingredients: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.
Take your fresh basil and create a chiffonade cut by taking your stack of basil and rolling them together. Once you get a nice tight roll of basil, slice them width-wise. Be careful to not over work the basil as this can turn it brown, as we want to keep that nice fresh green color. Gently toss the Bruschetta mixture and set aside at room temperature for at least an hour to marinate the flavors together.
Serve Bruschetta with your tasty Crostini slices.
Variation: For a fun twist, spread the tomato mixture on top of all breads, sprinkle with mozzarella & pop in oven just until cheese melts and serve.
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