No one does bruschetta like the Italians but if you have some day old bread, a few tomatoes, some onion, and dried basil hanging around, you can pull this off anytime! The trick to great bruschetta is salting only the bottom side of the toasts and NOT salting the bruschetta!
| Balance Factor | Perfect 0! |
| Prep Time | 30 mins |
| Cook Time | 4 mins |
| Serving Size | 8 pieces |
| Servings |
people
|
Ingredients
- 1 French baguette eg. Ace Bakery Baguette (350 g)
- 4 medium plum tomatoes
- 2 scallions or green onions
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Ingredients
|
Instructions
- Cut the baguette into 1 cm slices and lay flat on a cookie sheet as close together as possible.
- Pour olive oil into a small bowl and brush onto each piece of bread. Sprinkle the bread with kosher salt and pepper.
- Turn broiler on med-high (about 400 degrees). Place the cookie sheet on a rack that is 4"-6" from the broiler element. Time for 2 minutes but watch closely to prevent the bread from burning. (If centre pieces brown before outside pieces, switch pieces around to make sure all pieces get evenly toasted.)
- Remove from oven and turn pieces over. Brush more olive oil on untoasted side and return to oven. DO NOT sprinkle this side with salt and pepper.
- Watch closely for 1-2 mins until pieces are nicely toasted. Remove from oven and let cool on the cookie sheet keeping the salted side down.
- To make the bruschetta, dice tomatoes into small 1/2 cm cubes. (You can slice down through the tomato then turn 90 degrees and slice down through the tomato again making sure to stop just short of the end of the tomato. Lay the tomato on its side and slice through to the cutting board to make the small cubes. ) Place tomato cubes in a medium sized bowl.
- Slice white and green parts of scallions into small rings. Place in bowl with tomatoes.
- Add 2 tsp of dried basil and 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar to the bowl and gently fold into tomato/scallion mixture.
- When serving, put a small spoonful of bruschetta onto the unsalted side of the toasts and sprinkle a tsp of parmesan cheese on top.
- Note: the purpose of salting only the bottom side of the toasts is so that you don't need to add salt to the bruschetta. This will prevent the moisture from coming out of the tomatoes and making the toasts soggy. Instead, your tongue gets the salt it needs to boost the flavours of the bruschetta from under the toasts and not from the bruschetta itself.
Nutrition Facts
Bruschetta
Amount Per Serving
Calories 260
Calories from Fat 117
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g
20%
Saturated Fat 3g
15%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 6g
Cholesterol 11mg
4%
Sodium 556mg
23%
Potassium 60mg
2%
Total Carbohydrates 27g
9%
Dietary Fiber 3g
12%
Sugars 3g
Protein 11g
22%
Vitamin A
3%
Vitamin C
2%
Calcium
24%
Iron
12%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
