February 17, 2011

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.

24 comments:

  1. Looks lovely, I would munch this any time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. wow...u know what I was going to post this today too...it was sitting in my drafts...its OK I will post something today! :)))
    ur completely homemade looks soo tempting!!...mine is semi homemade! :)))
    Smitha
    http://smithasspicyflavors.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks easy to make and healthy too... Gonna try this weekend...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Looks lovely, very inviting...loved those clicks too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. wonderful looking bruschettas lovely pictures

    ReplyDelete
  6. The bruschetta looks fantastic. very well presentrd :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bruschetta looks marvellous..

    ReplyDelete
  8. cool post.very new to me..

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love bruschetta. Simple, fun n filling..loved your pictures :)


    US Masala

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lovely clicks. looks great

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you all for your comments, once more. You are too generous!

    Smitha, isn't it intresting? Looks like we have more than Doha in common! :) Can't wait to see what you share.

    ReplyDelete
  12. i've a compelling contract to comment on all your posts...i refuse to look up the recipe...if you continue to shoot so good :P

    ReplyDelete
  13. i can have this everyday for my breakfast:)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks for your lovely notes, Padhu, Thoma, Preety and Ria!

    Thoma, ah, you really make me blush here :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hey,

    Lovely dish and beautiful clicks...:)

    Dr.Sameena@

    http://www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi doc, nice to meet you! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your kind thoughts.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow.. i love bruschetta... nice of u to share the recipe :) Very beautiful clicks :)
    Thanks a lot for stopping by my blog and for following me :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sensational shots! The bruschetta looks so inviting.. book marked this one...

    ReplyDelete
  19. Nashira loved your long illustrated bruschetta series here. I absolutely love this item. I make it almost every other day with lots of feta cheese as the topping other then tomatoes and olives and which are actually soaked togather along with a tad bit of garlic for about 30 minutes and preferably heated in a microwave for 20 seconds.

    For me the defining moment is the cheese and the quality of the bread on which this is made plus the basil.

    I think I have a photo somewhere on my photo stream of how I make it. Let me see if I can link it here.



    http://www.flickr.com/photos/ezee123/6002932914/

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh yeah, a good quality bread makes all the difference. I love a bit of crunch but not those totally dry breads. Also loved your MW version. Next time, I'll sure pop it in the microwave, the way you do!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love brushetta lovely click.

    ReplyDelete
  22. First time to ur space love it
    www.redchillycurry.com

    ReplyDelete

A million thank you's for stopping by, taking the time to connect, and coming back to visit again. I genuinely appreciate each of your kind thoughts, lovely words, love and support. Happy, happy to hear from you, and hope to see you again!

♥ Nashi