← The Kitchen · Sauces & Small Plates
Classic Tomato Bruschetta
From The Kitchen · an Italian summer on toast
A Set-the-Week staple — and a board essential.
There may be nothing more Italian, or more perfect, than ripe summer tomatoes, torn basil and good olive oil piled on toasted, garlic-rubbed bread. It's the heart of an antipasti board, a light lunch, or the first thing to disappear at any table.
Scale
Ingredients
- 4 ripe tomatoes, diced (or 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered)
- 2 cloves garlic (1 minced, 1 halved for rubbing)
- ¼ cup fresh basil, torn
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the bread
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (optional)
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Good sourdough, a baguette or rustic loaf, sliced
- Optional: fresh mozzarella
Method
- Combine the diced tomatoes, minced garlic, torn basil, olive oil and balsamic in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and let sit 15 to 20 minutes so the flavors meld and the tomatoes release their juice.
- Meanwhile, slice the bread, brush with olive oil, and toast or grill until golden and crisp.
- Rub each warm toast with the cut side of the halved garlic clove.
- Just before serving, drain any excess liquid from the tomatoes and spoon them onto the toasts. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil — and torn fresh mozzarella, if you like.
Gina's tip
Salt the tomatoes and let them sit — it draws out the juice for the best flavor. Then drain it off so the toast stays crisp, and top just before serving so nothing goes soggy. A little torn fresh mozzarella turns it into a caprese bruschetta.
I hope this one finds a place in your kitchen as it has in mine. Enjoy!
— Gina