Video! How to Make Bruschetta
My friend Dee showed me how to make it years ago, and it couldn’t be easier to prepare. It’s just a mixture of chopped tomatoes, balsamic, basil, and garlic, spooned over olive-oil brushed slices of toasted baguette or rustic bread. It’s perfect for a party because you can make a large batch of the topping ahead of time, as well as toasting baguette slices. Either bring out a bowl of the bruschetta topping for people to put on their own toasts, or do it for them right before serving. To thinly slice basil leaves, stack the leaves on top of each other and roll up like a cigar. Then make thin slices from one end of the basil cigar to the other. Once the water is boiling, remove the pot from the heat. Put scored tomatoes in the hot water and blanch for 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and let sit until cool enough to handle. Then gently peel off the tomato skins. Cut out the stem base with a paring knife. Cut the tomatoes into halves or quarters and squeeze out most of the juices and seeds. Stir in the thinly sliced basil and add salt and freshly ground black pepper, adding more to taste. Note, tomatoes love salt; you may need to add more than you expect. The baguette slices will toast best in the top rack of your oven, so you may need to work in batches to toast them all. When the oven has reached 450°F (230°C) place the slices in the oven on the top rack and toast for 5 to 6 minutes until lightly browned around the edges. If you want, you can toast the bread slices without coating them first in olive oil. Toast them until lightly browned on both sides. Then, cut a clove of garlic in half and rub over one side of the toast. Then, brush with olive oil. (See Easiest Ever Garlic Bread.) Either serve the toasts plain with a bowl of the tomato bruschetta mixture on the side for people to top their own, or use a spoon to gently top each toasted bread slice with some of the tomato mixture. If you top each slice individually, do it right before serving. Did you love this recipe? Give us some stars below!
