Bruschetta with Tomato & Olive Oil

Bruschetta

Repeat after me: brew-SKEH-tuh. Bruschetta! One thing that was much debated amongst my family on our first trip to Italy was the pronunciation of this word for toasted bread rubbed with garlic and topped with tomatoes tossed in olive oil. I now know that the proper pronunciation involves a hard “c” sound; though for most Americans this can be a difficult adjustment since we call it “brew-SHET-ta” stateside.

Pronunciation aside this classic Italian antipasto (appetizer), is delicious no matter what language you eat it in! Bruschetta is my favorite Italian starter. It’s so simple, and yet there’s something almost transcendent about the combination of tomatoes and olive oil – it’s a match made in heaven.

Here’s my go-to bruschetta recipe, which my Italian roommate taught me on my first night living in Rome.

Ingredients

  • 1 baguette Italian bread, sliced
  • 1 clove of garlic, peeled
  • Handful of ripe cherry or grape tomatoes, diced
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Start by dicing your tomatoes. You can do a rough or a fine chop, depending on preference. In a small bowl, toss diced cherry tomatoes with 1 tbsp of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a medium skillet, swirling around to coat the bottom. Place bread in skillet, flipping to make sure both sides are coated in oil. As the bread toasts, rub each side with garlic clove, rubbing vigorously for strong flavor and gently for milder flavor.

Heat until bread is golden brown and beginning to darken on both sides. Remove from heat and give it another rub with garlic, if desired. Spoon tomato mixture over toasted bread and enjoy!

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4 Responses to Bruschetta with Tomato & Olive Oil

  1. Eleonora November 20, 2014 at 10:05 am #

    Brava, the pronunciation is half the recipe!

    • Abbey Hastings November 20, 2014 at 2:58 pm #

      Agreed – bru-SKeh-ta and bru-SHet-ta are definitely two different things. The former is authentic Italian and the latter is the American adaptation (which always includes basil for some reason!)

  2. Anne November 20, 2014 at 8:37 pm #

    Wonderful! Love bruschetta but somehow it never tastes the same in England – even with home grown tomatoes. Guess we need that Roman sun!!

    • Abbey Hastings November 21, 2014 at 11:16 am #

      Definitely! I didn’t mention it in the blog but the quality of tomatoes makes all the difference! And no place does tomatoes quite as well as Italy 🙂

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