Bruschetta

By Foodguy on May 4th, 2008

Bruschetta
photo by Allerina & Glen MacLarty

This dish originates from central Italy back in the 15th century. Its normally served as an appetizer or snack. The word “bruschetta” comes from “buscare” in Roman dialect, meaning “to roast over coals.” When olives are pressed into olive oil, the growers sample the oil on bread that is toasted over a small fire in the pressing room. The crusty bread is then rubbed with garlic and sprinkled with salt. The meaning of the word bruschetta in the U.S. has been transformed into referring to the topping. There are literally hundreds of recipes for this dish and my variation is below. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

1 loaf French bread
4 tomatoes, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed in garlic press
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped scallions (green parts only)
4 tablespoons Extra-Virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup ground Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the broiler.

Dice the tomatoes into 1/4 inch chunks. Chop the basil, scallions and crush garlic in a press. In a bowl, mix the tomatoes, basil, scallions, garlic with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut the French bread into 1/4-inch crosswise slices. Place bread slices on a baking sheet and brush them with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Broil the bread until lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and set aside.

Place a spoonful of the tomato mixture on top of each slice of bread and top it with some Parmesan cheese.

Place baking sheet back in the oven for about 3-4 minutes to heat the topping.

Remove from oven and place the bruschetta on a serving platter and serve.