[Tomato Basil Bruschetta] A Simple and Delicious Antipasto - A poor peasant dish from Italy

While I was in Toronto for a week for Rogers Cup, 

my raised-bed vegetable garden became a small jungle. :( 

I got new soil for the garden last Spring. This soil is so rich and full of nutrient that my vegetables, mostly tomatoes, grow so well. 

I'm pretty sure that even a plastic piece will germinate from this soil. (I'm not even kidding!)

When I have more than enough tomatoes (and basil), I either blend them to make gazpacho, my favorite summer soup, or chop them to make bruschetta. 

I thought I had posted a bruschetta recipe last year, but I cannot find it :( 

So, today seems a right day to post my bruschetta recipe I've been using for many years. It's so simple to make that you can make it within 10 minutes. Even if it's really easy to make, I cannot help but order it whenever I find bruschetta on a menu. Ripe tomato and basil give vivid contrast and stimulate my 'already prosperous' appetite. :( This is a recipe I got from my Italian friend many years ago. This is one of the recipes I use over and over, especially in summer. Ingredients are just so simple, but delicious. As the ingredients are so basic that I understand why the bruschetta was a poor peasant dish, especially of Tuscany and Lazio. (Reference: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruschetta)

  

Here goes my favorite Bruschetta recipe.

Ingredients

4 ripe roma tomatoes or 2 cups cherry tomatoes

1 small bunch fresh basil

sea salt

black pepper

3-4 tablespoon olive oil

1-2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Baguette or sourdough bread, sliced 1 cm thick

Garlic, minced.

Directions

1. Dice roma tomatoes or quarter cherry tomatoes and remove the seeds and juice from their centres. Well, when I have to make bruschetta real quick, like today, I don't  bother to remove seeds.

2. Brush bread with olive oil and garilc(optional) and grill or toast. 

3. Put quartered tomatoes in a bowl, season with salt and pepper, and tear in basil leaves.

4. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then toss to mix all the ingredients.

5. Align the toasted slices of bread on a serving platter. Top each slice with the tomatoes, right before serving so that the bread doesn't get soggy.

This is a wonderful summer delight!

Enjoy~

Tomato & Basil Bruschetta