Bruschetta

I discover something new every day. One thing I discovered while working on this recipes, there are really some dishes that should never be bought, that are so easy, and so delicious and so... well, again, easy, that everyone should try a hand at 'making it'. Bruschetta seems to be someone one only has when out at a restaurant. Ha ha, it even seemed foreign to me to even consider 'making' it. I saw this recipe and got excited though, so as usual, I thought I would give it a shot.

Bruschetta really is best with a baguette or oven-toasted bread (that crunchiness adds zing to the bruschetta and also helps the bread to not become soggy from the oil). Also for those vegans out there, double check your bread/baguette is vegan! This is a perfect recipe to prepare as a side to any meal or as a great appetizer (it is 'heavy' in the sense that there is a lot of oil, so only one or two pieces/slices of baguette will satisfy as a side/app).

This is again from Tosca Reno's latest Eat Clean Cookbook (thanks Tosca!)

Bruschetta with Tomatoes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Yield: 20 servings

Ingredients:

3 large tomatoes, chopped fine

1/4 cup arugula, chopped into fine ribbons

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

4 1/4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 cloves of garlic, passed through a garlic press

1/2 tsp sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 loaf whole-grain French baguette, sliced into half-inch diagonal slices

Directions:

-Combine all ingredients, except bread, two hours before serving (I stored mine in a large glass Mason jar)

-When ready to serve, toast bread

-Spoon the chopped tomato mixture on top of toasted baguette slices or place bread in a basket and serve the tomato mixture on the side

Notes: If you don't plan on using the tomato mixture right away, it should be refrigerated. Otherwise store at room temperature. I didn't have any arugula, so I left this ingredient out and it was not missed, lots of flavour without! (I'm sure it would be wonderful with it too). I also had to use dried basil (as the fresh basil in the store did not look very good), so I used much less as the flavours are always much stronger with dried herbs (I use somewhere between 1 to 1 1/2 Tbsp). I also think I used 3 cloves of garlic instead of 2... who doesn't love more garlic?

All my family loved it and so did I! It was so easy!

Enjoy!