Bruschetta Recipe with Pictures

I’m not a fan of tomatoes. They’re squishy and they taste so tomatoey – and those seeds! Ugh. I can’t even stand picking them out of my salad, only to find SEEDS lurking in the leaves. Traumatizing. (Who’s being dramatic?)

But I do love bruschetta! Restaurant-style, that is. When people make it at home it always tastes like chopped up plain tomatoes on bread. What’s appetizing about that? You have to marinate the tomatoes, people! The other day I got it in my head that I was going to make some and that they were going to taste like something I would order at a restaurant. And by golly they did!

I chopped up a couple of tomatoes and half an onion and tossed them together with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, some garlic cloves, and a few spices. You could probably use a red or white wine vinegar instead of the balsamic if you’re feeling ornery. The most important part of this is to let it marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours!! Let there be a marriage of flavors. It tastes incredibly good when you wait. And you know what they say about those who wait. Doesn’t it make your mouth water just looking at the picture?? If you could only smell it…


Traditionally (and I use that term loosely, because really, what do I know about anything traditional), bruschetta is served on sliced French bread. I did not have French bread in the house. It goes stale very quickly. However, I did have some pita bread! And let me tell you, it was FABULOUS! So whatever you decide to use, the process is the same. I cut the pita into six pieces. Then I sprayed butter on both sides and sprinkled garlic salt on them. If you want to cut the sodium down you could rub them (they appreciate the massage) with raw garlic, or just use garlic powder. Or you could omit this step altogether. I find that it gives it a lip-smacking garlicky saltiness. Then I toasted them for a few minutes. It’s really up to you how much to toast them. I like the pita to be a little on the crispy side. A pita crisp, if you will.

 
After the bread is toasted, just spoon some of the marinated tomato / onion mixture on it, and top with some cheese! I used mozzarella (it’s what was in the fridge), but crumbled feta (or whatever you like, really) would work just as well. The cheese is optional, but it is sooooo good!


Just look at it! It’s beautiful! I had it as an appetizer before dinner, and it was so good that the next day I had it for lunch. And it is probably pretty good for you! You’ve got your heart-healthy oils, lycopene, calcium … really, it’s next to perfect.


Bruschetta Recipe
Loaf of French Bread or Pita Bread
Spray Butter
Garlic Salt
Marinated Tomatoes / Onions
2 to 3 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 C. Olive Oil
1/8 C. Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbsp Parsley
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dill
1/2 tsp basil
1/8 tsp pepper
Feel free to add more or less of the ingredients above. For some things I didn’t measure, I eyeballed it. Toss ingredients together in a bowl. Refrigerate 2 hours. Serve on bread. Top with cheese. Delish!