Summer might be the very best time of year to make bruschetta, but there's no reason you can't make great it year round. The rules for summer apply - if it's late summer and tomatoes are vivid and ripe, saturated with flavor, you'll be all good. Good tomatoes are the thing that matters most when it comes to making this classic, open-faced Italian antipasto. Bruschetta is such a simple preparation it means paying attention to the little details matters. In spring that might mean using great artichokes, or caramelized onions and squash in winter. Today I'm going to talk through how I make my favorite version of this easy appetizer and include a few simple, seasonal variations as well.
She calls for Italian whole wheat bread (pane integrale) sliced 1 1/2 inches thick. I usually use whatever hearty sourdough or country loaf I have on hand at the time. If you're baking homemade sourdough, by all means use that. Bruschetta is a great way to use up day(s)-old bread. Many sources will tell you 1/2-inch slices are the goal, and Marcella weighs in suggesting we use bread sliced 1 1/2-inches thick. I find that slices 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch thick hit the sweet spot where you can get a good ratio of topping to bread in each bite.
The short answer here is: use the absolutely best tomatoes you can find. I’m talking peak season, ripe, and flavorful tomatoes. Preferably the kind you find in the markets in late summer. If your tomatoes are pale, sad, and flavorless, I’d recommend making something else. As far as tomato varietals go, loot for Roma tomatoes, or heirlooms. And if your tomatoes are super juicy, it’s ok to drain off the extra tomato juices.
I think of the vinegar in bruschetta as a seasoning component of sorts. It brings acidity to the overall preparation, melds with the olive oil and contributes some balance. I'll say it outright. You can't use awful vinegar here and get good results, and there's a lot of it out there. Two favorite vinegars top of mind right now include Katz vinegars, and Brightland's Parasol.
As soon as you've removed the bread from the grill, and it is cool enough to handle, rub both sides vigorously with a peeled clove of garlic. Especially if you love garlic as much as I do.
Rinse and dry your tomatoes. Halve each of them, use a finger to remove the seeds, and cut out the cores. Roughly cut the tomatoes into 1/2-inch pieces and place in a medium bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, a small splash of vinegar, and a pinch of salt. Gently toss, taste, adjust if necessary, and set aside.
Heat a grill or oven to medium-high. When it’s ready, use the remaining 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to brush across the slices of bread. Grill or bake until well-toasted and golden brown with a hint of char. Flipping when the first side is done. Remove from grilled and when cool enough to handle, rub both sides of each slice of bread with garlic.
Cut each slice of bread in half if you like, and top each segment with the tomato mixture. And a finishing drizzle of olive oil is always nice.
