I was on a work~related trip recently with Joe to New York. The hotel we stayed in had a restaurant directly behind the parking lot that we also have in our mitten state. It was so much fun to just walk on over when he got back to our room, have a cocktail or two and dinner. We don’t do appetizers too often. Usually we order a cocktail and our dinner, sip and visit until our meal comes. Plus, that’s just a lot of food for this girl. We weren’t really feeling like ordering from the dinner menu, plus it was happy hour to boot, which meant super cheap appetizers. So we decided to go that route instead. And, for some very weird reason (maybe I was just being a good wife?) I said “let’s get the Bruschetta!”…and he looked at me…and stared for a second. He asked me three times if I was sure. I absolutely despise tomatoes. Period. They are ok in salsa, but if I come across a big piece, I’ll pick it out of my way. So, I was super hungry and thought, well, if I don’t like it, we had another appy we ordered, I could have that instead. Bruschetta came out, I tried it and…well let’s just say we had to keep asking for more crostini (the serving was HUGE) because I couldn’t get enough of it. So began my love for Bruschetta (properly pronounced “brusketta”).
We changed our recipe up a little. We added mozzarella (perhaps not traditional, but I wanted it, so in it went). The mixture of everything goes perfectly with a yummy toasted piece of bread. The fresh basil (the ONLY way to go) really sends it over the top, along with the balsamic, lemon juice and mozzarella, the tomatoes have a beautiful place to marinate. This is an easy appetizer to make, but it really should sit in the refrigerator for at least two hours. It’s also light, so there’s plenty of room for dinner afterwards!
Sláinte!
- 2 cups diced Roma tomatoes (about 5 tomatoes)
- 1/3 cup diced sweet onion
- 1/2 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon olive oil (plus extra for brushing on the bread)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 cup fresh mozzarella, chopped
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 loaf french bread or baguette
- Slice tomatoes, remove seeds then chop into small cubes and place into medium sized bowl.
- Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- While bruschetta is marinating, set oven to broil (high), slice loaf of french bread at an angle. Place onto foil line baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Broil on high until slightly browned (watch very closely, it burns fast) approximately 3-4 minutes, depending on your oven. Remove from pan, flip bread over, brush with olive oil and return to oven and broil until slightly browned.
- Spoon bruschetta onto toasted bread and enjoy as an appetizer, snack or meal.
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