Now that summer time is quickly upon us thoughts of quick, easy but still beautiful, casual food come to mind. And bruschetta (pronounced brooh-skeh-tta) is one of those foods.
Bruschetta is a food that originated in central Italy. In Tuscany, bruschetta is called fettunta- which literally means oiled slices.
In the USA- we tend to think of Bruschetta mainly as grilled slices of Italian bread with fresh tomatoes, basil, olive oil, 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 variety 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, (eg: should be crusty in the outside and soft inside), garlic, and extra virgin cold pressed olive oil.
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- extra virgin cold pressed olive oil, fresh mozzarella, authentic cheese, fresh vegetables, fresh cheeses, good quality meats or fish.
If you’d like to throw a Bruschetta party which is a great summertime idea, you can put together a simple quick yet fun and delicious party by arranging the following ingredients on a table and letting the guests choose their choice of toppings:
- 1 bottle of extra olive oil with pourer top for drizzling
- Fresh mozzarella cut into small cubes
- Chopped hazelnuts and walnuts
- Pignoli nuts
- Chopped olives- green and black
- Steamed, peeled, cleaned shrimp
- Grilled vegetables- eggplant, peppers, onions
- Tomatoes, cut into small cubes (should be fresh and ripe plum tomatoes)
- Celery leaves chopped
- Basil leaves chopped
- Anchovies canned in olive oil
- Arugula
- Provolone cheese cut into cubes
- Thinly sliced prosciutto
- Pesto sauce
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 is my favorite Bruschetta recipe. Serve as an appetizer or for a quick light dinner for two or four.
Bruschetta con limone (Bruschetta with lemon)
For two, make half of each recipe and share. For four, make the full recipe and serve in four.
Ingredients:
1 fresh lemon- squeezed
1 lb of crusty Italian bread- sliced into ½ slices
Handful of fresh parsley finely chopped
½ lb of smoked salmon- cut into small pieces
¼ cup of whipped cottage cheese or cream cheese
Olive oil for drizzling
Directions:
1. Place bread slices on grill or in oven under broiler till golden and crispy.
2. Drizzle with just about 1 tsp of olive oil on each slice.
3. Remove, while still hot, spread on whipped cottage cheese.
4. Place chopped salmon and chopped parsley on top of cheese.
5. Drizzle about ½ tsp fresh lemon juice on top and serve.
