Simply Bruschetta

This recipe is a winner for me as it takes less time to cook than it does to eat. The secret to making a bruschetta to be proud of is to take care of your ingredients; the better the tomatoes, the better the taste.

I won't make any bold claim that this is the best bruschetta that you'll ever eat (I'll leave that for the Italians to fight over), but this simple lunch is ideal for when you're desperate for something fresh and tasty.

As I said before the best results come from the best ingredients

Make sure to use vine tomatoes, proper sea salt and fresh basil. Dried basil has no place in a lunch like this!

It's important also to get the slicing correct; nothing ruins a bruschetta more than getting a hunk of red onion mid bite!

I chop my tomatoes fairly small but my onions are shredded. I was tempted to get my food processor out for ease but as it was only one onion I decided the washing up trade off wasn't worth it!

The basil can be chopped quite roughly. Before you chop it, however, grasp the stalks in your hand and firmly slap the herbs against the other palm. Do this a couple of times and you'll notice the herbs are much more fragrant. Always bruise your fresh herbs like this to get a more powerful flavour.

While I was chopping I just popped the ciabatta in the toaster, then once they were ready I gave the slices a generous drizzle of olive oil and topped them with the tomato mixture. All it needed was a grating of Parmesan for a perfect and speedy Italian lunch.

RECIPE

Makes two portions

Ingredients:

2 Ciabatta rolls or 4 ciabatta slices

4 fresh vine tomatoes

1 red onion

A large handful of fresh basil

3 tbsps good quality extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsps balsamic vinegar

2 or 3 good pinches of sea salt flakes

Parmesan cheese (10g approx) 

Method:

Slice the ciabatta rolls into two halves and place in a toaster or under the grill

Slice the tomatoes and onion as described above and place in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle over a pinch or two of sea salt. Fresh tomatoes and salt are best friends so don't be afraid to put a decent pinch in here!

Slap the basil against your hand or the surface a few times to bruise the leaves and release the fragrance. Roughly slice the leaves and add to the mixing bowl.

Drop in a tbsp or two of good balsamic vinegar and add an extra pinch of salt.

Once the ciabatta is toasted drizzle the good olive oil over the bread and scoop the mixture evenly over the four slices. You can pile this fairly high.

Grate the Parmesean over the bruchettas and serve immediately. 

How did you get on with your bruschettas? Let me know!