Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Yummy Homemade Bruschetta

This recipe is inspired after a meal at one of the nicest Italian restaurant here in Chicago. I have never tasted bruschetta with a hint of balsamic vinegar. The refreshing drop of sourness certainly "prepped" my appetite well for whatever came afterward.

So when I got home, I looked at my small little pantry and came up with this simple homemade brushetta recipe. I replaced the balsamic vinegar with white wine vinegar and it worked perfectly! In fact, I think using white wine vinegar made the dish a lot more palatable to the Asian crowd because white wine vinegar is more subtle than balsamic vinegar.

Excellent as a quick breakfast, as an appetizer in a 3 course dinner for 2 or as a crowd pleasing hor d' oeuvres (of course on smaller slices of bread).

Here's the amazing recipe. Try it and let me know what you think!



Ingredients (Makes 4 pieces):
1. ¼ red onion, finely diced
2. 1 medium tomato, seeds and juices removed, then finely diced
(My choice: tomato on the vine if eaten raw. They are the sweetest)
3. 1 tablespoon fresh basil, julienned
4. 1 tablespoon nice fruity extra virgin olive oil
(My choice: Greek olive oil)
5. ½ teaspoon white wine vinegar
6. Punch of salt and pepper
7. 4 slices of your favourite artisan bread, sliced to ~1-inch thick
(My choice: multi grain :) to my full serving of whole grains!)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 275F or 140C.
2. Place pieces of sliced bread on an aluminum-lined baking sheet.
3. While the oven is preheating, prepare all the other ingredients.
4. Place bread in oven to toast for ~5 to 6 minutes until the edges are crispy.
5. Meanwhile, place onion, tomatoes and fresh basil in a bowl and mix well.
6. Add salt, pepper, olive oil and white wine vinegar and stir again to mix well.
7. Once bread is ready, place on serving plate.
8. Dish 2-3 spoonfuls of bruschetta mixture onto each slice of bread.
9. Serve while bread is still warm.

Note:
If you don't have an oven at home, you can also use a saucepan to toast your bread. Heat up a saucepan on medium-high. Toast each side of the the bread for ~5-8 minutes (depending on your stove) until the sides are crispy.

Nutritional value of this recipe
This recipe makes about 4 servings. Each serving is about 60 calories and is a good source of thiamin.

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