Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta
Bright fresh heirloom tomatoes diced and tossed in olive oil, salt, basil, garlic, and balsamic vinegar on top of a crunchy baguette brushed with olive oil.
Servings: 6
Calories: 135kcal
Ingredients
- 1 large heirloom tomato, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced center stem removed
- 1 handful of fresh basil, minced about 1 tablespoon minced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil plus extra for brushing the bread
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 baguette, sliced at an angle into half inch pieces
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to broil.
- Place tomatoes in a bowl and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Add the minced garlic, and basil and a pinch of salt to taste
- Brush each slice of the baguette with olive oil.
- Place on a baking sheet and put in the oven for 3-5 minutes until they are a nice golden toasted color. Watch carefully to ensure they don’t burn.
- Add a medium spoonful of the bruschetta topping to each slice. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Choosing Tomatoes
- Color: The great thing about choosing an heirloom tomato is the variety of colors, sometimes even within the same tomato. Choose two tomatoes with different colors if possible, such as yellow and red.
- Type: Depending on the tomato, you’ll have more or fewer seeds. Roma tomatoes have fewer seeds. Heirloom tomatoes also sometimes have very few seeds. Don’t go overboard with this, but remove any of the larger globs of seeds before adding the diced tomatoes to the bowl. Using just the meaty flesh makes for a nice chunky bruschetta.
- Garlic: Slice the garlic down the middle lengthwise and remove the center stem, which can have a very strong flavor. Choose a small piece of garlic and mince the pieces as small as possible. Raw garlic has a very strong flavor, so less is more in this case.
- Make Ahead: You can make the bruschetta topping up to a day ahead of time, but for the freshest taste, serve the same day. The tomato topping can be made several hours in advance.
- Serving: Once the tomatoes are placed on the baguette slices, serve the bruschetta right away for the added effect of the warm bread and the cool topping, and to prevent the bread from becoming soggy.
Nutrition
Calories: 135kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 259mg | Potassium: 106mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 188IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 2mg
