Description
Italian bruschetta showcases ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, and crusty bread for a classic appetizer. Crisp ingredients blend seamlessly, offering savory Mediterranean flavors you’ll enjoy as a light starter or summer snack.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 tomatoes (Roma or cherry), diced
- 1 baguette, sliced into ½-inch (1.27 cm) rounds
- 4 tablespoons (4 tbsp / 60 ml) olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced/halved
- ¼ cup (60 ml) fresh basil, chopped
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) balsamic vinegar
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml) salt
- ¼ tsp (1.25 ml) black pepper
Instructions
- Preparation: Meticulously chop ripe tomatoes and transfer to a mixing vessel, ensuring a uniform texture that allows flavors to mingle harmoniously.
- Aromatics Integration: Mince garlic cloves and incorporate with tomatoes, while drizzling extra virgin olive oil to create a rich, lustrous foundation that amplifies the ingredients’ natural essence.
- Herb and Acid Infusion: Delicately tear fresh basil leaves and introduce aged balsamic vinegar, layering complex flavor dimensions with gentle precision.
- Seasoning Equilibrium: Sprinkle sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, calibrating the taste profile to achieve a balanced and vibrant character.
- Flavor Melding: Gently fold all components together, allowing ingredients to interconnect and develop a robust, cohesive flavor landscape.
- Resting and Refinement: Allow bruschetta mixture to rest for 5-10 minutes, enabling ingredients to macerate and intensify their collective taste profile.
- Final Calibration: Conduct a careful taste assessment, making subtle seasoning adjustments to ensure a perfectly harmonized appetizer ready for immediate enjoyment.
Notes
- Choose Ripe Tomatoes: Select firm, deeply colored tomatoes at peak ripeness for maximum flavor and sweetness.
- Control Garlic Intensity: Adjust garlic quantity based on personal preference; start with less and gradually increase to prevent overpowering the delicate tomato blend.
- Master Marination Time: Allow mixture to rest exactly 5-10 minutes, enabling ingredients to develop complex flavor profiles without becoming soggy.
- Serve Immediately Fresh: Prepare bruschetta just before serving to maintain crisp bread texture and vibrant ingredient freshness, preventing bread from becoming wet and losing its crunch.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Appetizer, Snacks
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 9
- Calories: 90
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 4 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3.5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg