Off the hook Bruschetta!
Now you can go to the market and get ready made Bruschetta mixture, (not here in Switzerland, but certainly Italy and the US) but it's not the same at all in my opinion then making it fresh without any preservatives. I absolutely love what I've put together with this one! So let's get started!
What you need:
*Try to get all organic if possible, I must here in Switzerland as the veggies are not that terrific. Most are imported from another country and by the time it reaches the market shelves, the life of it's freshness has dwindled to just about tasteless. Organic here in Switzerland is much better!
~1 bunch of fresh Basil chopped I would say about 1/2 cup. I absolutely adore Basil. It's one of my favorite herbs in my culinary world.
~4 nice sized tomatoes, ("tomahtoes" let's call the whole thing off...) seeded and chopped
~10 cloves garlic chopped fine (yes, 10 is a magic garlic number for me for some reason, I just loooooooove garlic)
~1 purple onion chopped small and even smaller if you can keep from crying during the process. Don't cut the root of the onion off first as that's where all the "tear gas" is stored. =) I like to use purple onions as they are sweeter than yellow ones and add much more color.
~1/4 cup good quality balsamic vinegar, yep makes a difference for sure. Here in Swissland, we can get really really good foodie quality vinegar for little cost.
~1 packet of Splenda OR 1 Tbsp sugar
~1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil and then some for brushing on the bread for later
~Squeeze of half of a lemon
~Salt and pepper to taste, just add until your tastes approve.
~1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or less or more depending on your mouth fire strength. We like it hot, but for guests, I tone it down a bit.
~Grated grana padano cheese (for bread and after Bruschetta mixture is on top of bread). If you can't find that, Parmesan or Pecorino will do.
~Good crusty loaf of bread, your choice, but I like a nice Italian baguette style with the crunchy crust "called skin by our daughter", and chewy so yummy inside. Our daughter calls that "the soft" of the bread.
Ok, enough ingredients, let's make it already!
Let's get to work:
1) Ok this is easy, add the first 10 ingredients to a bowl and stir until combined. Now guess what, you have to wait... whaaaaaaaat?? Yes, you must wait at least a day before you can indulge in the wonderful flavors of this Bruschetta. You can certainly eat it straight away, but it's much better if you wait. Just cover it up and hide it in your fridge to resist temptation. =)
2) Ok, so now hopefully you have patiently waited a day and the time has come to eat it. A few hours before you plan to eat it, remove from fridge and bring to room temp as flavors are much more intense tasting rather than serving it cold. Preheat your oven to 325F or 162C (European ovens) Cut up your bread into 1/4 inch slices and place on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and grate some fresh grana padano cheese on it and bake until the edges of the bread look toasty, about 10-15 minutes, depending on the heat of your particular oven.
3) Immediately put on a serving plate and top with the room temp Bruschetta and spoon some of the extra balsamic all over it so it soaks in the bread. Top with another grating of cheese and you can now finally ENJOY!!!!
~4 nice sized tomatoes, ("tomahtoes" let's call the whole thing off...) seeded and chopped
~10 cloves garlic chopped fine (yes, 10 is a magic garlic number for me for some reason, I just loooooooove garlic)
~1 purple onion chopped small and even smaller if you can keep from crying during the process. Don't cut the root of the onion off first as that's where all the "tear gas" is stored. =) I like to use purple onions as they are sweeter than yellow ones and add much more color.
~1/4 cup good quality balsamic vinegar, yep makes a difference for sure. Here in Swissland, we can get really really good foodie quality vinegar for little cost.
~1 packet of Splenda OR 1 Tbsp sugar
~1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil and then some for brushing on the bread for later
~Squeeze of half of a lemon
~Salt and pepper to taste, just add until your tastes approve.
~1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or less or more depending on your mouth fire strength. We like it hot, but for guests, I tone it down a bit.
~Grated grana padano cheese (for bread and after Bruschetta mixture is on top of bread). If you can't find that, Parmesan or Pecorino will do.
~Good crusty loaf of bread, your choice, but I like a nice Italian baguette style with the crunchy crust "called skin by our daughter", and chewy so yummy inside. Our daughter calls that "the soft" of the bread.
Ok, enough ingredients, let's make it already!
Let's get to work:
1) Ok this is easy, add the first 10 ingredients to a bowl and stir until combined. Now guess what, you have to wait... whaaaaaaaat?? Yes, you must wait at least a day before you can indulge in the wonderful flavors of this Bruschetta. You can certainly eat it straight away, but it's much better if you wait. Just cover it up and hide it in your fridge to resist temptation. =)
2) Ok, so now hopefully you have patiently waited a day and the time has come to eat it. A few hours before you plan to eat it, remove from fridge and bring to room temp as flavors are much more intense tasting rather than serving it cold. Preheat your oven to 325F or 162C (European ovens) Cut up your bread into 1/4 inch slices and place on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and grate some fresh grana padano cheese on it and bake until the edges of the bread look toasty, about 10-15 minutes, depending on the heat of your particular oven.
3) Immediately put on a serving plate and top with the room temp Bruschetta and spoon some of the extra balsamic all over it so it soaks in the bread. Top with another grating of cheese and you can now finally ENJOY!!!!
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