- Bruschetta can be made quickly and easily but comes packed with delightful flavors.
- Each ingredient in your bruschetta needs to be high-quality, including cold-pressed EVOO, fresh mozzarella and veggies, and authentic cheeses.
Bruschetta originated in central Italy but has become almost as popular in the U.S. In Tuscany, Bruschetta is called fettunta, which literally means “oiled slices.” We Americans tend to think of bruschetta mainly as grilled slices of Italian bread with fresh tomatoes, basil, olive oil and garlic. In Italy, it is one of the easiest and quickest dishes to prepare for a casual dinner or evening with family or friends. And there are so many variations with a range of ingredients that complement each other.
Its main advantage is that the ingredients used to make bruschetta don’t require long periods of time for cooking or preparation. If you follow the classic recipes for bruschetta, all you need is an oven for toasting the bread and, mainly, great authentic Italian bread (it should be crusty on the outside and soft inside), garlic and extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil.
Try this recipe, too: Al Taglio Roman-Style Pizza
Like all great Italian recipes, each type of bruschetta is made with a small amount of ingredients, and each ingredient is important to the taste of the finished product. So each ingredient used must be the best quality; i.e., cold-pressed EVOO, fresh mozzarella, authentic, fresh cheeses, fresh vegetables, and good quality meats or fish.
Every region of Italy has its favorite bruschetta recipes and it is more usual to find in the central and southern parts of Italy. Here are two great bruschetta recipes for you to try!
Bruschetta con limone (Bruschetta with lemon)
Ingredients:
1 fresh lemon, squeezed
1 lb. of crusty Italian bread, sliced into 1/2” slices
Handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 lb. of smoked salmon, cut into small pieces
1/4 c. of whipped cottage cheese or cream cheese
Olive oil for drizzling
Instructions:
Place bread slices on grill or in oven under broiler till golden and crispy. Drizzle with about 1 tsp. of olive oil on each slice. Remove while still hot and spread on whipped cottage cheese. Place chopped salmon and chopped parsley on top of cheese. Drizzle about 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice on top and serve. Serves four.
Bruschetta con filetto (Bruschetta with filet)
Ingredients:
1 fresh carrot
1/4 lb. fresh mushrooms
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 small golden onion
1 lb. of crusty Italian bread
1/4 lb. of potatoes
1 celery stalk
1/4 c. ripe cherry tomatoes, cut into cubes
1 c. dry white wine
1 lb. of filet of flounder
Instructions:
Wash all vegetables and cut into small cubes. In a large frying pan, pour in olive oil and half of the chopped onion. When the oil just starts to bubble, add in flounder cut into small pieces. Let flounder cook for about three minutes, then add in the tomatoes and the other vegetables. Pour white wine over all and let wine evaporate. Stir gently, every so often. Let cook for another minute or until golden. When finished, remove from heat. Grill bread sliced into 1/4” to 1/2” thick slices. When bread is golden and crusty, take it out of oven and top with flounder mixture. Serves four.
Buona bruschetta!!!!
