March 31, 2007

JFI-Bruschetta With Tomatoes.



When the April JFI was announced by RP of My Workshop as tomatoes, my first reaction was a tangy sweet and spicy chutney but that I had blogged about last summer.I sat and day dreamed of my garden with big boy tomatoes, plum tomatoes, cherry tomatoes...and then looked outside at the swinging door to my forlorn and cold garden.
As I watched each of my fellow bloggers comes up interesting combinations with tomato, my mind was still stuck..Maybe a tomato tart that shows up in all the magazines in the peak of summer, or maybe rasam or maybe pasta sauce....But the days flew by and I was too lazy to cook up any of that. This despite using tomato almost every day! So today while I made my mid-noon snack of Bruschetta with a tomato salad and pondered, it struck me. What better way to highlight a tomato? All the freshness and the sourness of a tomato tempered with garlic and olive oil and allowed to soak into crusty bread!
For those who are unfamiliar with the term, Bruschetta is grilled slices of bread rubbed with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. The toppings can be spicy red pepper, fresh tomato, vegetables and/or cheese. Bruschetta is usually served as a snack or appetizer.
So without much ado, here is a simple recipe for the tomato topping for the tru tomato lover.
You will need:
2 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/4 tbsp finely minced garlic
2 tbsp cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 small loaf of bread(baguettes), cut in 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 cloves garlic, cut in half
salt to taste.

Preparation:
In a bowl, mix all ingredients except bread and garlic cloves. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside, unrefrigerated for at least 15-20 minutes. Heat oven to 350°F. Toast bread on a baking sheet till slightly crisp. Rub cut side of garlic on each slice; top with tomato mixture. Serve as appetisers or have as a snack.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Shaheen, I am hooked to your blog. Nice innovative recipe. I just started blogging 3 days ago and I am getting addicted to such wonderful foodie blogs.

My 3 year old thinks that I am crazy taking pictures of food. :D

Anonymous said...

Good choice...as all the others would have been too!
(my comment on the last post was chewed - those kallapams look to-die-for!)

Anonymous said...

I love brushetta...a good healthy appetizers...

Lovely entry for the JFI

Mishmash ! said...

Hey Shaheen, soooo glad to see the bruschettas coz my contribution to JFI,my first time ever, is also this italian deliacy :) Mine is also a similar one but with less ingredients :)

Shn

Anonymous said...

Hi Shaheen,

I just posted a recipe for bruschetta and was going through my fav blogs. And i was quite surprised to see that even you have posted bruschetta recipe.

I think we all bloggers think alike. What do you say..

Your bruschetta looks absolutely beautifull.

Madhavi.

Hannah said...

Very interesting Shaheen! Last friday , Ashok & I went to an Italian restaurant and they served something similar as a starter on the house - only thing is the platter had these toasted slices with everything else simply kept whole around it. the waiter then offered to show us how to have it. He rubbed the toast with the garlic clove, then rubbed in the whole & folded basil leaf, then rubbed in a piece of tomato, sprinkled salt and pepper then dribbled olive oil all over it - it was pretty good and interesting! think this must be the Indian-Italian version of bruschetta ;-)

Asha

indosungod said...

Shaheen Bruschetta looks absolutely delicious, colorful. great way to showcase Tomato.

Mythreyee said...

wonderful entry. Its the one I make most of the time as appetizers, when I host a party. Will surely try your version. Thanks.

Shivapriya said...

Nice entry, bruschetta looks delicious.

Revathi said...

ha ha haaaa. no i love comments. Just that I am getting really bz.. Whats ur email id btw ??

Anonymous said...

Looks fantastic Shaheen! Extra garlic on my slice please :):)

Prema Sundar said...

Yummy bruschettas Shaheen. would love to have this...

KF said...

Good JFI entry..Looks delicious.

J said...

Nice entry for JFI. Bruschetta looks good :)

Shah cooks said...

Reena, be careful, blogging can become addictive.:)

Anita,Sushma,Thanks!

Mishmash,Madhavi, Now I saw ur entry. coincidence.great minds think alike.ha ha.

Asha, I love the tomato garlic rubbed version too!I guess tomatoes is good in any form if u like them.

Indo, MYthree,Shivpriya, do try and hope u like it.

Revathi..its shaheenso@yahoo.com

Linda,madame,would u like some fresh cushed pepper too?:)

Prema,Kitchenfairy,Jyotsana..try it..

Anonymous said...

I Love tomato bruschetta topping too. Instead of having it on toasted garlic-olive oil bread, we now, have this on rye-bread(since me and my partner are dieting):)It's a wonderful healthy mid-day/evening snack.

I normally buy the ready-made Bruschetta topping from stores but now with your recipe,I'll try it in my kitchen:). Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe, Shaheen. Very good!

Rg.

Anonymous said...

Hi Your blog looks great and you have some lovely recipes, I will be back to visit.

from
Jeena xx

visit jeenas blog for healthy recipes
updated daily !

Menu Today said...

Hi Shaheen,
Now I have the recipe to Make Bruschetta. Thanks for sharing.