Late summer local tomatoes are so delicious that I can’t have enough of them. I serve them sliced, in salads, gazpacho and, of course, bruschetta.

Bruschetta is an Italian appetizer that is served before meal. Although it originated in Italy, it has spread around the world. Bruschetta essentially means toasted bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil. Today, we think about it as a finely chopped tomatoes and basil salad with garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar which is served on a slice of toasted bread.

This is the usual appetizer served before we ordered our meal when we traveled in Italy or Spain.

The quality of tomato salad largely depends on the quality of tomatoes. Because they are served chopped and raw, there’s no way you try to hide the low quality tomatoes. Go for the best – fresh, ripe and fleshy.

Fresh basil is also very important. That’s why I grow it on my porch and it is available all summer.

The preparation of bruschetta is simple. We need:
4 tomatoes chopped small, 1 onion finely chopped, 2 cloves of garlic minced small, ¼ cup of basil finely chopped, 2 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of Balsamic vinegar, Salt and freshly ground pepper. 

Mix well and let it stand for an hour.

Slice baguette or rye bread, toast or grill the slices, rub with garlic, olive oil and top the slices with bruschetta.

Sometimes the simplest things make you the happiest.

P.S. All the food featured in this post has been prepared and photographed by me.