Bruschetta

Our tomatoes are flourishing right now and each day we go out to pick more. It's the grandkids favorite thing to do right now, especially the cherry tomatoes because they can eat them immediately.

One of our favorite tomato snacks is to make caprese with tomato, mozzarella, and basil along with a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  They are so easy to throw together in no time.

I've posted lots of versions of caprese on this blog here, here and here.  So, here's a little change up for tomato season - bruschetta.  We ate this a lot when we went to Italy and I'm not sure why we don't eat it more often.  A friend posted the recipe on Facebook and I made it so then I decided it was time to post this recipe, too.  We basically ate it for dinner last night, it was so good we couldn't stop eating it!

It takes a little more time to prepare than the caprese but it's well worth it.  I used my food processor to speed up all the chopping.  You can grill the toast on your barbecue with a little olive oil or you can just toast them in the oven.  Or you can eat them without the bread and directly spoon it directly into your mouth, if you want!  You could also use it in a cooked dish like with grilled or baked chicken or add it to your grilled cheese sandwich.  Whatever you do with it, I can guarantee that you will not have any leftover once you make this recipe.

Serves 6 for appetizers

2 lbs. tomatoes, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 Tbsp.  red-wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup packed basil leaves, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
ciabatta bread, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices

1.  Put the tomatoes, onion, garlic, vinegar, olive oil and basil in a medium bowl and stir to combine.
I used my food processor to dice the onion, garlic and basil

2.  Season the mixture with salt and pepper and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow all the flavors to blend together.

3.  Meanwhile, toast the bread. Align bread slices on a baking sheet. Broil the first side until golden brown, then flip slices to the opposite side and broil opposite side until golden brown.

4.    Mound the bread with the tomato mixture and some of the juices and serve immediately.

You can also grill the bread on each side on the barbecue until slightly charred, about 30 seconds per side.  Remove from the grill and brush the tops with olive oil.