bruschetta

Arundel Pajo · Post by **Arundel Pajo** » February 25, 2004, 12:16 am

Bruschetta is one of those great, great dishes. It can be served warm or cold, as an appetizer, side dish, or just as a snack. There are a million and one ways to top grilled bread, but here is my personal standby. It's a vibrant, tasty, colorful dish that is *always* a hit with dates. I don't have much in the way of measurements for those of you that would want them, but I'll try to be detailed. I suppose one day, I should measure this out...I usually just go by taste, sight, and smell.

Here's what you need:
<ul><li>Tomatoes: I usually start with firm, ripe Roma tomatoes. Or, alternately, if they have good tomatoes at the farmer's market, I'll go for those. A good tomato should *smell* like a tomato when you select it. It should smell like the vine. If it's not ripe enough, set it on a window sill or somewhere in the sun, and it will redden up. Don't let it get too ripe for the bruschetta, though, you want to be able to dice it well.

Cut the tops off your tomatoes to remove the stem base. Then cut them in half lengthwise. Cut them in half again so that you have four quarters cut lengthwise. Using a paring knife, separate the seed and rib from the flesh of the tomato. Run your thumb under the seed part to remove it. You should be left with 4 seeded quarters per tomato. Cut these into about 1/4 inch strips lengthwise, turn 90 degrees, and cut into a dice. Place your diced tomatoes in a mixing bowl.

<li>Capers: I love capers. No. Really. I love capers. Tomatoes and capers are such a beautiful natural combination, too. I throw in a couple teaspoons of drained capers with my tomatoes. Start with a few, and work your way up. I don't like them to overpower my tomatoes, but I do like to have a little green in there to break up all that red.

<li>Garlic: Throw in a generous amount of garlic. Mince it as fine as you can, or slice it paper-thin for a great presentation. Separate your cloves of garlic, cut the root ends off, turn them on their side, and whack them with the side of your chef's knife. That will crack them just enough to easily remove the skins. Make a few preliminary cuts, then dash a little bit of salt on there before you mince...this will help keep the garlic from sticking to your blade as you mince. Stir the minced garlic into your mixing bowl, too.

<li>Olive Oil: A good, fresh tasting extra-virgin olive oil. Don't buy olive oil in clear glass bottles. It should be kept out of direct light like a find wine. Buy darker green bottles, ceramic pots, or tins. Or get your own cruet for it and buy in bulk. It's a bit more expensive, but sometime if you really want to treat yourself while making this, get a good unfiltered olive oil. It has more of that olive taste, and adds a certain savor to the dish - but it's totally not necessary. Drizzle the olive oil very slowly and gradually over the tomatoes, stirring to turn occasionally as you do. You want to coat them, but you don't want them to swim in oil.

<li>Balsamic Vinegar: Get a good balsamic vinegar. That's not to say you have to get the best, most expensive available, but you should probably avoid the store brand. Add this slowly, too - just like with the olive oil. Balsamic vinegar has a very rich color, and you don't want to turn your tomatoes brown - you want to keep them red. Also keep in mind that you have some of that briney, tart taste from the capers, so be judicious with the balsamico.

<li>Salt and Pepper: Fresh ground. Invest in a mill that can grind rock or sea salt, and a pepper mill. You'll be glad you did. Now - the capers are salty, and you probably put some salt in with the garlic, so be careful with that salt. Add the pepper to taste as well... It should be there in the background, but it should not be the dominant flavor, by far.

<li>Fresh Rosemary: I usually won't make this dish unless I have fresh rosemary. Luckily for me, rosemary grows really well here in Texas, and there are several places where I can trim a bit for free. Any fresh herb will really do - and sometimes I add others, but the rosemary is excellent in here. Take a good sized, healthy sprig of the stuff, wash it, and shake it out to dry it. Starting at the tip, gently grip the stem and run your fingers down to the base...like petting a cat the wrong way. Most of the leaves should come off easily, leaving the stem. Roughly chop these, but don't make it too fine. Add this to the mix, too...but start off light. You want to balance all the flavors to taste.

<li>Other Fresh Herbs: Sometimes if I have a little fresh oregano or basil lying around, I'll make a chiffonade of that, too, for a little extra color and flavor. Baby leaf oregano doesn't need this, its leaves are attractive enough as is. For the basil, take a few leaves and lay them on top of each other. Roll them up lengthwise, and just sort of loosely slice crossways across the roll. Use low pressure and let the knife do the work - you don't want to bruise the leaves. Add these to taste, too.</li>

That's it so far for the topping. Turn that well to mix everything up in the bowl, and let it sit, covered, at room temp for about an hour or two so that the flavors can meld while you get the bread ready.

<li>Bread: A lot of people prefer to use an Italian roll or ciabatta to make bruschetta. I myself prefer a French baguette. There's an artisan bakery around the corner here that makes wonderful baguettes daily. The baguette is a bit crustier and has better tooth that ciabatta. I like to cut it along a bias for more surface area and a more attractive display. Very lightly brush the bread with oil and grill it. If you don't have a grill, or if it's cold or rainy outside, then use the broiler in the oven - but don't oil the bread in this case...and watch it carefully to keep it from getting *too* crisp. You don't want crostini...it still needs to have some yield when you bite it.

<li>Pesto: My parents grow basil seasonally. Every fall, before it goes to seed, I grab a couple of plants, bring them home, and make massive batches of homemade pesto. I turn this out into ice trays and freeze it into singe-use portions to use during the winter. Pesto freezes really well, if you cover it properly. If you don't have homemade pesto, bottled will work fine for this dish. Try to look for a pesto with minimal ingredients. Also - some imported brands use sunflower oil instead of olive oil. These taste sorta funny and should be avoided despite the "imported from Italy" stamp on them. Look for a pesto made with olive oil. Spread a little of pesto on your grilled bread slices, and toss them in the oven at 350º F for a little while to dry out the pesto a bit. Again - don't let them turn into crackers.</li>

By this time, the topping should be marinated well. Arrange the bread slices on a serving plate, and, using a slotted spoon or fork, top each slice with a dollop of the tomato mix.

<li>Parmesan: Get a good parmesan cheese. The best is the kind from Italy, of course, and goes for about 18 bucks per pound, but some really good parmesan has been coming from Argentina for a fraction of the cost. Get a block of it. Taking a potato/veggie peeler, shave the side of the block with a moderate amount of pressure to make cheese curls. Toss some of these cheese curls on top of your bruschetta before you serve it.</li></ul>

That's pretty much it. Garnish with a few sprigs of rosemary and other fresh herbs if you used them, and enjoy!

Siji · Post by **Siji** » February 27, 2004, 4:51 pm

Gonna try this tonight, thanks for the post.

Arundel Pajo · Post by **Arundel Pajo** » February 27, 2004, 6:04 pm

right on! let me know how it turned out for you...

Siji · Post by **Siji** » February 28, 2004, 11:41 pm

It turned out great.

I'd never used Pesto before and I've never been a big fan of Balsamic vinegar.. and no idea what/where capers were.. so it was somewhat of an adventure. In any case, came out tasting just like Carrabba's Brushetta for the most part. My only regret is not having bought better bread. But it was slim pickings where I was shopping.

That and I made too much of it and we couldn't finish it all..

Thanks again!

Arborealus · Post by **Arborealus** » February 29, 2004, 12:47 am

Siji wrote:bought better bread

Heretic!...

Bake Some!...Bread is really pretty easy...

Arundel Pajo · Post by **Arundel Pajo** » February 29, 2004, 2:36 am

Excellent! I'm glad it turned out good for you.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » February 29, 2004, 2:40 pm

Great post!

I am going to try this very soon.

Estrosiath · Post by **Estrosiath** » February 29, 2004, 4:35 pm

If you're interested - the original Italian recipe is :
You rub garlic on heated bread, then put some olive oil and salt on it. It's a very simple dish... Usually used as an appetizer

Arundel Pajo · Post by **Arundel Pajo** » March 1, 2004, 12:48 am

Estrosiath wrote:If you're interested - the original Italian recipe is :
You rub garlic on heated bread, then put some olive oil and salt on it. It's a very simple dish... Usually used as an appetizer

had some of that as a snack just tonight, and it was indeed simple and delicious! ^_^

Drolgin Steingrinder · Post by **Drolgin Steingrinder** » March 1, 2004, 1:16 am

Simple is always good

My favorite pasta dish is home made spaghetti, served with fresh ground pepper and olive oil, maybe a little parmesan. Same goes for bruschetta, as few frills as possible.

now I want garlic, damnit.