A classic Italian bruschetta that’s welcomed at any time of year. Serve this Fresh Tomato Bruschetta as an appetizer, lunch or even a starter to a bigger meal. It never disappoints and is delicious every single time.
What’s Happening Around Here
Before we get into the food today, how is everybody doing? Just quickly have to touch on the elephant in the room otherwise know as lock down. As it’s such a colossal part of life right now, it almost seems dismissive not to mention it.
If you’ve been a long time reader, you probably know we live in Spain. And we’ve been on a nation wide lock down for just over three weeks now. Yesterday, we found out we have three more to go. Fun.
I don’t want to get into the entire severity of the current situation, just stating that staying home is the right thing to do no matter where you are in the world right now. I feel our family is fortunate as we’re all at home together. We have a warm and safe home, food and the comfort of each other. Very sadly, not everybody has these luxuries.
That being said, I understand these are very trying times for so many of us. Not because we’re staying at home, but for a million an one reasons.
And to be honest, the thought of writing a food blog through these very trying times, almost seems silly. Well, I’ve given it a lot of thought and decided I’m pushing through with what I love to do through these difficult times. Cooking keeps me sane and sharing can be helpful for all of you stuck at home.
I have noticed flocks of people heading to my blog through the past few weeks. I was doing a little reading into as to why all of a sudden are my stats going through the roof. And it became quite clear quite quickly. People are at home. They do have time. They have to cook.
Now, the focus is on fresh new recipes with the new site up and running. Or at least old fresh recipe…hahah!
Since I don’t have to spend my time doing data entry, getting my head around WordPress or designing my new site, the full focus is onto getting new recipes out.
yes, New Recipes coming every Week
You can look forward to three new recipes every single week. Yes, you really can. Back early in the year, I made that promise. That was ahead of starting my new site. Then I rapidly realized how much work was involved in that and I still had to cook for my family outside the blog as well as have a life, and do all the things that us stay-at-home people do. I quickly came to the conclusion that getting new recipes out had to be shelved in favour of creating this new site.
And today’s recipe is this quick and easy Tomato Bruschetta. Let’s take a little look below how it’s done.
Get your fresh ingredients ready
Remember, I said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times, get everything out you need. Read the recipe to the end before starting!. And if you new you can get straight to the recipe at the bottom of the page or click the jump to recipe below. Easy.
Jump to RecipeAll you need for this easy and delicious classic Italian appetizer you will see below. Ripe tomatoes, rustic bread, like baguette (day old stale bread works even better!), salt, garlic and olive oil.
use fresh ripe tomatoes
Yes, it’s important. This recipe gets it’s flavour from the tomatoes so make sure they are good and ripe.
Dice the tomatoes small and then put them in a strainer over a bowl. We’re doing this to get rid of the excess liquid. You can leave them here for about 1/2 hour to naturally drain. If time’s not on your side, use the back of the spoon to gently push the tomatoes and the liquid will squeeze out.
Throw away the excess liquid and put the tomatoes in the bowl.
slice the bread
You can slice the bread to whatever thickness you like. I usually go for about 1 inch slices like shown here. i also cut the bread on the diagonal, just because i like it!
You don’t need fresh bread for this recipe, in fact, stale bread works even better. And if I got my facts right, bruschetta came about using stale bread in the beginning. Because you’re putting it in the oven to make it crisp, you don’t need fresh bread. It’s an extra bonus of this recipe.
getting the bread crisp
Have the oven preheated to 375 degrees F and have ready a large baking tray. Place all the bread on the baking tray and drizzle over the olive oil. Pop it in the oven for 10 – 12 minutes or until he bread it lightly golden and crisp. In the two photos it is difficult to see the difference but the second one the bread really is fresh out of the oven and crisp.
put your bruschetta together
Toss the tomatoes with the garlic and salt. Spoon the tomatoes over the crisp bread. Put it back in the oven for just 2 3 minutes.
serve immediately
Ta – da! Simple, easy and tasty bruschetta straight out of the oven.
I topped it with a bit of fresh parsley when it came out of the oven and this is completely optional.
This is the most basic Tomato Bruschetta recipe. As you can see it uses such few ingredients. But the key is fresh tomatoes.
Serve the bruschetta as soon as it comes out of the oven. But it’s not the end of the world if it has to sit around for a little while.
Can I make Bruschetta in advance
The simple answer is yes and no. Confused? You can get all the prep work done, but not the assembly. But yes, get your topping ready and pop it in the fridge. Slice up all your bread and have it ready on the baking tray. Then it will literally take no time at all to get this on the table.
More bruschetta ideas
I love bruschetta of all kinds and the possibilities are endless of what you can put on a small piece of crisp bread. Here’s a few suggestions to get you started.
- Mediterranean Bruschetta
- Roasted Cherry Tomato & Caramelized Onion Bruschetta
- Fried Goat Cheese & Caramelized Onion Bruschetta
- Roasted Butternut Squash & Apple Bruschetta
- Spanish Serrano Ham and Cured Cheese Bruschetta
- Fig & Blueberry Bruschetta
- Smoked Salmon & Herb Mascarpone
And you can always come up with you own creative ideas of just make the simple on you see on the screen! And if you love fresh tomato recipes but are looking for something else, check out the Spinach & Herb Stuffed Tomatoes, yum!
Happy cooking friends and I’ll see you all in a few days with another delicious new recipe!
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Get the recipe!
Fresh Tomato Bruschetta
Ingredients
- 5 Tomatoes ripe and diced
- 2 Garlic cloves crushed
- Sea salt
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil divided (more if needed)
- 1 Baguette cut into about 12 slices on the diagonal
- Small bunch fresh chopped parsley optional for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Have ready a large baking tray.
- Place the tomatoes in a small strainer over a bowl. Gently push down the tomatoes to squeeze out excess liquid. Discard liquid and put the tomatoes in the bowl.
- Add garlic and salt to the tomatoes. Stir well.
- Place the bread slices on the baking tray. Drizzle over olive oil. Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes or until crispy.
- Remove from oven and top with tomatoes. Return to oven for a further 2 – 3 minutes.
- Serve immediately and top with fresh parsley if desired.
*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Thanks for stopping by and hope you see you soon!
