Bruschettas

It's summer, it's hot, very hot. So I'm going to avoid talking to you about tartifletteeven though I recently ate a cheese fondue in Peru after my mountaineering expedition and I had a sudden craving for raclette after that. Instead, I'm going to tell you about a fresh recipe that's also perfect for an aperitif: bruschetta.

In my family, we love aperitif dinners. We prepare a lot of small dishes and pick and choose. This is often lighter than a traditional meal with starter, main course and dessert. During these aperitif dinners, we do all sorts of different things. saladsmall pizza or quiche. One of my favorite dishes is the small canapés.

They can be anything from a simple spread to a complex bite-sized dish. I'll put the Bruschettas in between. It's still simple to do, but requires more work than simply spreading your favorite tapenade.

Ingredients for bruschettas

• The thicker the slice, the harder it will be to eat. If you don't have a baguette, Ciabattas also work well.
• 45 ml (3 tablespoons) olive oil.
• 3-4 Tomatoes, the best type of tomato is a matter of debate. Whenever I can, I prefer a tomato that's big enough to make preparation quicker; my choice is often "Rotondo". Roma" tomatoes can also work well.
• 1 shallot, finely chopped. If you don't have any, you can use onion instead.
• 30 g chopped basil
• 10 ml (2 teaspoons) balsamic vinegar.
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped.

Preparing the bruschettas

The least fun, but nevertheless very important, step is to remove the seeds from your tomatoes, leaving only the flesh. The easiest way to do this is to cut your tomatoes into quarters and then, using a spoon or your thumbs, remove the juice and seeds. It's not complicated, just time-consuming.

You can save the juice and seeds in a bowl and use them to make a tomato sauce base or tomato juice, for example.

The second step is to prepare the bread that will serve as the base for your bruschettas. Once you've cut it into fairly thin slices, use a brush to brush the bread with olive oil. If you're a garlic lover, you can also rub a clove of garlic over the bread.

Then bake the bread pieces for about 10 minutes at 350°F (180°C). Leave to cool while you prepare the filling.

The garnish is very simple. In a bowl, combine the diced tomatoes, finely chopped shallot, chopped basil, vinegar, finely chopped garlic and oil. Finally, add a little salt and pepper. Your preparation is ready. Don't be afraid to overdo it: leftovers can be added to a salad.

All that's left is to assemble the bread, spreading the filling over the pieces.

Variation with cheese

If you're a cheese lover like me, you can make a slightly less traditional variation by adding cheese to your bread before baking.

I use about ~40 gr (⅓ cup) of grated Parmesan in these cases. I add it just before the loaves go into the oven.

This makes the bruschettas a little saltier and may have the advantage of protecting the bread from the moist topping. This way, your bread will stay crisp for longer, especially if you don't eat the bruschetta the same day.

Get cooking!

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