Bruschetta

(Sing the following words to the tune of “Goin’ to the Chapel”)

Goin’ to a party and we’re gonna bring brusche-e-eta, goin’ to a party and we’re gonna bring brusche-e-eta, goin’ to a party for fun!

Catchy, isn’t it? I had that song rolling through my head the entire evening. Why? I have no idea. I started to prepare the bruschetta for a little neighborhood gathering, and those words and that tune popped into my brain and wouldn’t leave! It’s crazy. Going to the Chapel wasn’t playing on The Current on the way home from work. It just spontaneously combusted! As did the recipe, for this little lively easy-as-pie Friday night treat. The tomatoes, garlic and basil were the only things left from last week’s CSA. Thanks Foxtail Farm!

Fresh Tomato Bruschetta – Recipe

Ingredients:

Tomato Mixture:

• 6-8 medium tomatoes
• 1 large handful fresh basil leaves
• 2 – 4 cloves garlic (I used 2 VERY large cloves)
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 tsp. salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1 Tbs. raspberry balsamic vinegar

The Bread:

• Italian peasant or baguette sliced 1/2 inch
• Oil to brush-coat each side of bread
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt

Directions:

1) Begin by making the toasted bread. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. I needed two large cookie sheets for one large loaf of Italian peasant bread.

2) In a food processor, mince the garlic. Place it in a bowl and cover generously with olive oil.

3) Brush the garlic infused oil onto both sides of the bread. Place the bread on the baking sheets.

4) Sprinkle the bread lightly with a little bit of salt before baking. Bake until the bread starts to brown.

5) Next, make the tomato mixture. Place the leftover garlic and oil mixture into the food processor.

6) Cut the tomatoes into pieces so they don’t need too much processing.

7) Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and pulse as few times as possible. You want the tomatoes to still be chunky.

8) Strain the excess liquid off the tomatoes by placing it in a mesh colander over a bowl. (If there is a smiley face where the eight should be, I have no idea why it is there – some strange thing having to do with WordPress?)

9) Serve with good wine, of course!

Thanks, neighbors for the home tours and the great community building!