THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2019
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30
L'Italo-Americano
Bruschetta is quick, delicious and typically Italian, whether you choose to top it with tomatoes or not
LA BUONA TAVOLA
RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES
FRANK FARIELLO
Continued to page 32
Authentic bruschetta: a basic recipe
B
ruschetta is a dish of
such astonishing sim-
plicity you might say
it's
not even worth
blogging about. After
all, the basic recipe for authentic
bruschetta is nothing more than
grilled bread, rubbed with garlic
and
drizzled with olive oil, sea-
soned with a sprinkling of salt.
Besides, there are a million
recipes for bruschetta, or so it
seems. It appears on the menu of
just
about every Italian restaurant;
sometimes you'll even get a com-
plementary plate of bruschette
without asking for it. In short, br-
uschetta has become a cliché: so
who
doesn't know how to make it
by now?
Well, if a quick Google search
for recipes is of any guide, a lot
of people. It may be the very sim-
plicity
of the dish to throw some
folks off. I've written before about
the tendency of non-Italians to
strafare (over-do) when recreating
Italian dishes, as if they couldn't
believe a recipe could be that easy.
So, let me set the record
straight and give you the recipe
for real, authentic bruschetta. If
you want to "improve" on it feel
free, but please, do try the original
at least once, then decide if it re-
ally needs anything more. I sus-
pect you'll end up agreeing with
me: it is truly delicious just as it
is.
Of course, you need to use
quality ingredients: good, crusty
bread with a substantial crumb—
one day old homemade pane
casereccio is ideal—lightly grilled
and drizzled with best quality,
fruity extra virgin olive oil. And if
you add the optional tomato top-
ping, make sure your tomatoes are
perfectly ripe and full of flavor.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6 people as a light an-
tipasto
• 4 large thick slices, each cut
in half, or 8 small slices, of rustic
bread, preferably pane casereccio
• A garlic clove, unpeeled but
cut in half crosswise
• Extra virgin olive oil, prefer-
ably of the deep green, fruity kind
• Salt
For the optional tomato top-
ping:
• 4 medium sized tomatoes, de-
seeded and cut into rough cubes
• A handful of fresh basil, torn
into small pieces
• A good pour of olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Grill the bread slices over a
moderately hot fire until they are
nicely toasted on both sides, turn-
ing frequently to ensure even
browning. Be careful not to burn
them: they will cook in only a
The secret of perfect bruschette is in the quality of the ingredients
