Bruschetta
This article describes general preparation procedures for the popular Italian appetizer (or antipasto) Bruschetta (plural bruschette), slices of toasted or grilled bread rubbed with garlic, drizzled with olive oil, and seasoned with salt and pepper. This basic preparation is frequently topped with combinations of flavorful seasonal ingredients. It is a dish coming from the Southern Italian culinary tradition, though variants exist throughout Italy. It is commonly mispronounced in America as "bru-shetta", but should be pronounced with a hard K sound, "bru-sketta." There are many types of bruschetta, some involving special roasted and/or hard bread which may require a different preparation than the one below. The recipe below is a meeting point between Northern and Southern Italy, using an Italian or French baguette-style loaf. You can adapt this recipe to as many servings as you need. As a guideline, you can serve 1 or 2 bruschette per person.
- Time
- 10 minutes
- Servings
- depends on loaf size
Ingredients
Base
- 1 loaf of Italian or French bread, sliced ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick on the bias
- ½ head garlic
- Kosher salt or sea salt
- Freshly-ground black pepper
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Toppings of your choice (see examples below)
Toppings
- Chopped tomatoes with arugula or basil
- Cooked white beans (topped, if you like, with sautéed kale)
- Sautéed mushrooms (preferably wild varieties)
- Minced anchovies flavored with wine vinegar and herbs
- Thinly-sliced pancetta crisped under the broiler
- Pugliese-style chopped mixture of summer vegetables (red onion, cucumber, tomatoes, oregano, flat-leaf parsley, basil, and red pepper flakes)
Method
- Toast the bread slices in a toaster oven, under a broiler, or on a grill, until they turn golden.
- Immediately rub the bread with the cut side of the garlic. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper, and drizzle generously with extra-virgin olive oil.
- Serve warm topped with whatever combinations of seasonal ingredients you choose.