Bruschetta

It’s been a lovely week. My schoolmate M., who is now one of the best dermatologist in my hometown, buzzed me on Valentine’s — she’s such a sweetheart and I miss her so much. My wonderful friend and ex-colleague J. visited the day after Valentine’s and I was so glad to see her and have a heart-to-heart. You see, I still miss all my lovely friends and colleagues from work, ah! Of course, I loved the girls gossip and silly talks- duh! And then, I was delighted to catch up and chitchat with my great young friend S., who shares the same birthday as I. Smiles, hugs, great moments, great company. Needless to say, I feel so happy and lucky to have such adorable friends.

Can it get any better? Oh yeah. Apparently, it can. Now that I’ve started blogging, I’m even more delighted to find a whole bunch of new companions. Albeit, virtually.

Thank you all for befriending me and making my life beautiful!

 

It’s the weekend and I really thought I would not be able to draft and post the bruschetta recipe today. But luck was on my side since I found some time to do a quick write-up.

Bruschetta is an Italian dish, an open sandwich, served mostly as an appetizer. It also makes an excellent snack – light and delicious. I love biting into the crunchiness of the garlic bread topped with fresh salad. My only tip would be to watch the garlic and basil you use in the salad as the taste can be a bit overpowering. Make sure you slice the garlic very fine while preparing the topping. I’m sharing a very basic, but still delicious, recipe with tomato, onion, olive oil and garlic. The topping may be prepared several hours in advance and chilled. The bread should be toasted just before serving.

Ingredients

1 loaf french bread (baguette)

1 1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil, removed from stalk and shredded

2 garlic cloves, 1 finely chopped, 1 halved

1 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing

1 teaspoon vinegar

salt, to taste

dash pepper

black olive slices, to serve

whole basil leaves, to serve

 

Preheat the oven to 350⁰ .

Meanwhile, slice bread on the diagonal into ½ inch thick slices. Brush one side liberally with olive and then rub a generous amount of the halved garlic over the same side. Place on baking sheets and bake for about 5 minutes until golden brown and crispy on the outside and squishy in the middle. Cool on wire rack.

In a bowl, toss together the tomatoes, chopped garlic, basil, onion, vinegar, salt, dash of pepper and 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil. Cover and chill for 30 – 60 minutes to allow the flavors to blend well.

Serve on toasted bread slices. Drizzle a bit of extra-virgin olive oil and garnish with a slice of olive and basil leaves, if desired.

If you are planning a soiree, arrange the tomato mixture, toasted bread slices, black olive slices and olive oil on a platter -- let the guests have fun digging in and assembling their own bruschetta.

 

Else, just try it both ways and see which one works best for you. Enjoy!

I hope you have a lovely weekend.