Tomato Bruschetta

Tomato bruschetta is one of those creations that almost everyone agrees upon: that they love it! Using fresh, top quality ingredients is key to obtaining the best results.

Originally published March 29, 2012

I’d like to introduce you to one of my favorite things in the world: tomato bruschetta. However, it has to be made simply and correctly. Use another recipe and you could be making a midwest American version that is nothing like the traditional Italian appetizer.

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Bruschetta is such a beautiful and delicious appetizer to serve. Whether it is a starter for a weeknight family meal, or for a small dinner with guests or even a large finger food party; it’s something everyone seems to love!

What is Bruschetta?

Bruschetta is essentially an Italian term for topped toasts which are served as an antipasto or appetizer. Contrary to what most people think, bruschetta isn’t just topped with tomato, but it is extremely popular. Bruschetta is singular and bruschette is plural.

How to Make an Authentic Italian Tomato Bruschetta

As I always stress, the main thing to remember in order to have tomato bruschetta taste as good as it looks, is to use top quality ingredients which is central to all Mediterranean diet recipes. Use this recipe if you want your final results to be on par with what you tasted in Italy.

1. Organic or homegrown tomatoes are usually the best (most types of tomatoes will work, even grape or cherry tomatoes.) If you do not have access to these, choose tomatoes which actually smell like tomatoes; if they are on the vine, the vine should be green and not dry.
2. (Optional – Fresh garlic (definitely not in a jar or frozen) if you are using, is key, whether just rubbed onto the bread, or chopped into the tomatoes.
3. Fresh basil. If you use the dried stuff, it just won’t taste good.
4. Extra virgin olive oil is soooo critical; it will make or break your bruschetta!
5. Salt is important too! Have you found a salt you love? If not, you should do a taste test among a few good quality salts. I do most of my cooking with Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, but also love Maldon, or other Italian or French sea salts for dishes like bruschetta.
6. HOLD THE BALSAMIC. There’s no need to add balsamic vinegar or glaze to your tomatoes, especially if they really are great tasting summer fruit! I discuss the reason for this in my Caprese skewers recipe.

How Long Does Fresh Bruschetta Keep?

Once topped, try to enjoy bruschetta within an hour. Fresh tomato bruschetta won’t last long (it’s usually snapped up by any human that’s around) as it’s naturally vegetarian and vegan. If you do happen to have leftovers, it’s probably best to discard any topped toasts as the sogginess won’t bode well with the bread, and the tomato topping won’t keep.

I just made bruschetta to take to the Hollywood Bowl last night. I made the tomato topping, but only added the chopped basil and olive oil. Then I brought along some garlic rubbed, toasted bread, and salt shaker (to add to the tomatoes just before I topped them.) DEEEE-licious!

Here’s another fresh tomato dish to try: burrata filled tomatoes!

How to Pronounce Bruschetta

Incidentally, I’d also like to advise you how to correctly pronounce “bruschetta” because it’s not “brew-shettah”. The correct pronunciation is “brew-skay-tah” (ch in Italian is pronounced as a “k”). See, that was easy, right?

Okay, that’s your Italian lesson for the day, now let’s make some authentic Italian tomato bruschetta!

Tomato Bruschetta

a family recipe                            makes enough for about 3 or 4 servings

FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW

Ingredients

• tomatoes, preferably organic, heirloom or homegrown
• OPTIONAL: fresh garlic
• fresh basil
• extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt (you can always add more)
• slices of bread (try to use a rustic, crusty Italian loaf, ciabatta or a baguette)

Directions for Tomato Bruschetta

Grill or toast the bread. I like to brush it with a little oil and put it into a panini press, or barbecue grill.

If using garlic, rub a cut side of the garlic onto the toasted bread slices (this is more popular in Italy), or finely chop the garlic.

Dice the tomatoes into small cubes, or chunks and put into a medium sized bowl. DO NOT DRAIN THE TOMATO JUICE.

Now, add the garlic to the tomatoes.

Chop one or two large basil leaves into little pieces and place all 3 ingredients into a bowl.

Add a the extra virgin olive oil and Kosher or sea salt, to taste. Mix well, and if it doesn’t taste wonderful, you probably need to add more salt to the bruschetta topping.

Just before serving, top the toasts with the tomato topping, and now is when you want to separate the chopped tomatoes from the juice. However, here’s what I do: I just take a spoonful of the topping and allow most of the juice to drain back into the bowl. You want some liquid as it’s incredibly flavorful. You can dip bread into the remaining juice at the end (it’s a lot like gazpacho.)

Enjoy this authentic Italian bruschetta recipe with a limoncello spritz or Hugo spritz before dinner!

TIPS:  don’t make bruschetta ahead of time as the juice will make the bread soggy very quickly. Add the salt and oil and and top the toast just before serving. And do not refrigerate any leftover tomatoes (tomatoes don’t do well in the refrigerator.)

Try this other classic Italian antipasto: prosciutto and melon.

And don’t forget a classic Caprese salad!

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