I've gotten behind on my blogging, but luckily not on my cooking! I'm thoroughly enjoying making home-cooked meals for my hubby and I, and I'm pretty sure he's enjoying it too!
Several weeks ago, I tried my hand at homemade bruschetta. I have always loved this Italian appetizer and found the recipe to be fairly easy and hassle-free. Plus I learned a new cooking technique! I had never "parboiled" anything before, but this was a good place to learn.
1. Take 6-7 plum or roma tomatoes. Parboil them by boiling water, removing it from the burner, and place the tomatoes in the water for one minute. Drain water and remove the skins of the tomatoes with a small knife. They should peel fairly easily due to the parboiling. Once peeled, cut into halves or quarters, remove the seeds and stem area, and chop finely. During this time, preheat the oven to 450 and place a rack on the top shelf in the oven.
2. Mix the tomatoes with 2 minced cloves of garlic, 1 Tbsp olive oil, and 1 tsp balsamic vinegar. Chop 6-8 fresh basil leaves, add to tomato mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Take 1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread. Slice the baguette on a diagonal about half-inch thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. Toast them in the top rack in your oven (you may need to do several batches). Place a tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown. (Note: Start with 3 minutes, then check every minute).
4. Place the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up. Place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, otherwise the bread may get soggy. Makes 24 small slices. The tomato mixture is best served cold, with the bread warm. Serves 6-10 as an appetizer or 3-4 for lunch.
One option is to sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. This recipe is also nice with a side of cottage cheese.
