- 3-4 medium sized tomatoes (heirloom for a more beautiful plate)
- 1 loaf of crusty bread
- 2 -3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil for frying + 1 tablespoon for the tomatoes
- ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2-4 sprigs of fresh basil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
First, pour yourself a glass of wine. I would recommend a sparkling dry red or a crisp chardonnay, but any will do. Take several sips. Now, chop your tomatoes into small pieces and place them in a small bowl. Separate your basil leaves from the stems and then rinse with cold water. Pat dry your basil leaves and chop or chiffonade the leaves into small strips. Mix the basil leaves in with the tomatoes. Add the balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper + 1 tablespoon of olive oil, stir and set aside. With a large knife, cut the loaf of bread into 1 – 1 ½ inch. chunks Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry each side of the bread slices until golden brown & crispy (2 -5 minutes per side) over medium heat. The outside of the bread should be crispy but the inside should be somewhat saturated with the olive oil. Remove bread slices from the pan and place onto paper towels. Once cooled, distribute the bread onto a plate and scoop mounds of the tomato mixture onto each slice. Sprinkle with some additional salt if desired.
Summer and spring time yield some of the most beautiful and delicious heirloom tomatoes. It’s amazing to me how many types of heirloom tomatoes exist and they taste SO much better than their basic counterparts. If you have a farmer’s market near you, this would be a great time to check out their selection of fresh tomatoes specifically for making bruschetta. This receipt really hits the spot when you want to carb load in a healthy way, ie, the main focus is the vegetable. However, the fried bread really makes this dish worth raving about. The texture created from the bread soaking up the olive oil is not easily replicated and not one I want to forget anytime soon.
