Name: Italian Bruschetta: The Traditional Recipe
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: Bread; Mozzarella cheese; Tomatoes; Onion; Salt; Pepper; Vinegar; Olive oil; Basil

Italian Bruschetta: The Traditional Recipe

How to prepare Italian bruschetta recipe, a simple vegetarian appetiser: tomatoes, mozzarella and onions on toasted bread. Easy and tasty.

This popular and delicious appetiser can be found all over Italy and is thought to date back as far as Ancient Rome, when olive growers would use a slice of bread to sample their freshly pressed oil after the harvest. Always pronounced with a hard “ch” like a “k” in Italian, bruschetta comes in lots of different regional variations, such as with a type of salami called ventricina in Abruzzo. Other ingredients often added to the usual tomato and garlic topping are cheese, beans and vegetables such as peppers.

11 March, 2013

Preparation

1. To prepare a tasty Italian bruschetta recipe first split the ciabattini and toast in the oven (or in a toaster).

2. Drain and slice the mozzarella. Wash and halve the cherry tomatoes.

3. Slice the onion. Brush each ciabattini half with a little olive oil and top with the bacon, mozzarella, tomatoes and onion.

4. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

5. Serve the Italian bruschetta garnished with basil.

Bruschetta is ripe for creativity when it comes to adapting the basic premise. An autumn recipe with an unmistakably Italian flavour, pigeon and chanterelle mushroom bruschetta created by Theo Randall offers a new take on a traditional favourite. Similar to bruschetta, smaller sliced crostini also offer a blank canvas for different flavours, such as this Tuscan favourite with chicken livers and onions. For a vegetarian alternative with plenty of goodness, these crostini with sautéed kale and mascarpone are hard to beat.

Buon appetito!