Ingredients
- 6 or 7 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Method
1 Prepare the tomatoes first. Parboil the tomatoes
for one minute in boiling water that has just been removed from the
burner. Drain. Using a sharp small knife, remove the skins of the
tomatoes. (If the tomatoes are too hot, you can protect your finger
tips by rubbing them with an ice cube between tomatoes.) Once the
tomatoes are peeled, cut them in halves or quarters and remove the seeds
and juice from their centers. Also cut out and discard the stem area.
Why use plum tomatoes instead of regular tomatoes? The skins are much
thicker and there are fewer seeds and less juice.
2 Make sure there is a top rack in place in your oven. Turn
on the oven to 450°F to preheat.
3 While the oven is heating, chop up the tomatoes finely.
Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl
and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4 Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick
slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry
brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. You will want to
toast them in the top rack in your oven, so you may need to do these in
batches depending on the size of your oven. Once the oven has reached
450°F, place a tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast
for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.
Alternatively, you can toast the bread without coating it in olive
oil first. Toast on a griddle for 1 minute on each side. Take a sharp
knife and score each slice 3 times. Rub some garlic in the slices and
drizzle half a teaspoon of olive oil on each slice. This is the more
traditional method of making bruschetta.
5 Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up.
Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for
people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each
slice of bread and serve. If you top each slice with the tomatoes, do
it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.
Makes 24 small slices. Serves 6-10 as an appetizer. Or 3-4 for
lunch (delicious served with cottage cheese on the side.)
| 
