Tomato Bruschetta Recipe | Easy Bruschetta Recipes

'Bruschetta' should be actually pronounced as 'Bru-sket-ta'  but I often hear it being pronounced as 'bru-shet-ta'.It is a classic Italian appetiser which is very simple and quick to prepare that can jazz up your parties for sure.The addition of fresh basil leaves, garlic and EVOO  to the tomatoes takes it to the new level.

Whenever the theme is Italian cooking I always would choose either garlic bread,Garlic Bread Exotica or this tomato bruschetta as a starter as these are very quick to prepare and can be served to a large crowd with ease. You can even have this tomato bruschetta with a Soup for a light and comforting dinner too or serve it as an evening snack in your tea parties, it fits the bill anywhere!!

Check out other Italian recipes in my blog here:

• Basil Pesto with Spiral Pasta, Creamy Avocado Pasta
• Eggplant Pasta, Indian style Masala Pasta
• Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta , Macaroni in White Sauce
• Garlic Bread Exotica 
• Pasta Salad, Stuffed Bell Peppers
• Roasted Bell Pepper Pasta, Spinach Pesto Penne Pasta
• Thin Crust Pesto Pizza

Tomato Bruschetta Recipe:
Serves: 3-4 | Author: Prathibha

Prep time: 10 mins | Baking time: 10 mins | Total time: 20 mins

Cuisine: Italian | Category: Appetizers/Snacks

Ingredients:

1 French loaf/Baguette

2 medium Red Tomatoes,finely chopped

12-15 Cherry Tomatoes, sliced into 4 pieces

8-10 Basil leaves, torn roughly(I used dried herbs and Coriander leaves isntead)

2-3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil(EVOO)

2 pods Garlic,grated

1 tsp Lemon juice or Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 tsp Black Pepper powder

Salt, to taste

Extra Virgin Oil, to drizzle

Method:

• Make a cross mark on the tomatoes and blanch them in hot water and remove the skin and chop them into pieces. You can skip this step and just remove the seeds and chop the tomatoes into small pieces. Cut the cherry tomatoes into 4 pieces lengthwise and keep them aside.

• In a bowl mix chopped tomatoes, cherry tomatoes,torn basil leaves, grated garlic, black pepper powder, salt and add lemon juice(or Balsamic Vinegar) and Extra Virgin Olive oil and mix nicely and leave the mixture for an hour.

• Cut the french loaf diagonally  to get pieces of 3/4"thickness.

• Place a big tbsp of tomato mixture on top of each piece and bake it in preheated oven for 7-8 mins until the tomatoes wilt slightly.Alternatively you can bake the slices(drizzled with EVOO) first in oven or roast them on tawa applying butter or EVOO and then rub one side of the toasted bread with a garlic pod and place the tomato mixture on it.

Drizzle more extra virgin olive oil on top and Serve.

Notes:

1. Ideally it is suggested to roast them in preheated oven until they are slightly crisp and one side of the roasted baguette slice is rubbed with a garlic pod to infuse more flavor into the slice.Then place the tomato filling on top and drizzle more EVOO on top.
2. I did not have basil at that moment and hence I had used dried Italian herbs and coriander leaves in place of basil.But I highly recommend to use fresh Italian basil for the recipe.
3. The addition of cherry tomatoes is optional,but it adds a nice look for the bruschetta. You can even add colored cherry tomatoes and skip the big tomatoes completely.
4. Balsamic vinegar adds a nice taste to it, if you have it add it otherwise replace it with lemon juice or vinegar or you can avoid it if you do not like it more tang.
5. You can even add few bites of buffalo mozarella cheese or feta cheese or paneer in the tomato  filling.

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