For a quick, tasty snack or summer entree, try making your own Italian bruschetta using Geoff Jansz’s recipe. It’s a great way to use fresh tomatoes from your garden.
Ingredients
Dressing
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 50mL red wine vinegar
- 100mL Extra Virgin olive oil
Bruschetta
- 6 salad tomatoes, chopped (Geoff used ‘Rouge di Marmande’)
- 12 basil leaves, torn not chopped
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 1/2 cup of your favourite dressing or make your own (see above)
- Ciabatta bread (Italian flat loaf) or another squat loaf, split horizontally
- Sea salt
- Pepper, freshly ground
Method
- Mix the dressing ingredients together in a bowl.
- Roughly chop the tomatoes after removing the core and any blemishes and add them to the dressing.
- Remove the stalks from the basil leaves and tear the leaves into the bowl. Finely dice one red onion and add to the bowl for extra flavour.
- Mix it all together with the dressing. Slice the ciabatta loaf horizontally before cutting each slice into strips about 5cm (2″) wide.
Hint: Ensure there is a crust on the base of the slice so that the tomato juices don’t seep through the bread.
Grill the bread on both sides on a hot grill.
Hint: When grilling use a herb brush (made from fresh herbs) dipped in olive oil to grease the hot grill.
To serve: Serve the bruschetta on the grilled bread immediately for maximum tomato flavour. Sprinkle good sea salt and freshly ground pepper on top. Makes 6 slices.
Further information
Ciabatta, the Italian bread, may be difficult to find in supermarkets but would be available from specialist delicatessens throughout Australia.
