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Rustic Tomato Bruschetta: The Way Real Italians Eat “Tomatoes on Bread”

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‘You say tomato, I say tomata…”

Whatever you’re pronunciation is, tomatoes are pretty incredible, right?  I mean, in Ontario, tomatoes are in their glory right now…all varieties (especially the ones that are picked from your garden!) taste pretty much like candy!

So, I thought this would be the best time to let you in on a little secret…

Wait for it…..

All these years, you have been making bruscetta all wrong!

I know what you’re thinking…”you mean it’s not just diced tomatoes and olive oil on toast?  You get off that unicorn because I want to slap you right now!!”

Well, hold your horses (or unicorns) because it’s actually much, much easier!

I’ll explain the process in a minute…let me just tell you what led up to this.

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I was reminded of this beautiful “snack” that I used to have as a kid when I got a surprise this week…

I was working in my office and I saw a delivery guy walking to my front door with a bag.  I opened the door, looked in the bag and I realized it was a glorious loaf of bread from Poilane in France!  I read the note that was attached.  This is what it said:

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Imagine!?!?  Did I cry?  Absolutely!!!!!

I kept her name out of it because when I called to thank her, she told me that she is really shy so I don’t want to make her blush when she doesn’t need to!!

She told me that it had been voted “the most famous bread in the world” and, when she was there, she enjoyed it fresh from the oven.  When she returned home, she ordered some (and had it flown in) and knew that I would probably be one of the people that she knew who would be over the moon if I received one!

She was soooo right.

So, with this glorious loaf in my hand, I knew I had to make the most of it!  My go-to tomato snack was the first thing that popped in my mind!

First, I headed to the garden and grabbed the most luscious tomato I could find..bright red, tender to the touch and warm from the sun’s rays – perfection!

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I grabbed a snippet of my basil (and if you want missed my story of my childhood memory of basil as cologne, take a peek at my pesto post!) and headed back to the kitchen.

I lightly toasted one of the glorious pieces of bread, and then, rub the basil on the bread (get right in there…you want the essence of it).  Then you literally rip the tomato in half (I know…so dramatic…but you HAVE to do it…it’s tradition!!) and squish it all over the bread, making sure all the pulp gets right in there.  Place the tomato-topped bread on a plate and put the squished tomato halves on the side.  Then, drizzle the best olive oil you have over the top of both the toast and the tomatoes and then give a good sprinkling of sea salt to both (I also like to grind some fresh pepper on too, but you don’t have to).

Now, if you really want to get the most out of this experience, go in your backyard and sit under a tree…wait for a beautiful breeze to come and then bite into the bread…chew a couple of times and then take a bite of the tomato.

Gloriiiiiious!!!!

Please try it.  Once you ‘ve tasted this, you will always remember summer and this treat whenever you see bruscetta on a menu!

And thank you, my sweet, sweet friend for thinking of me.  You will never know what your beautiful gesture did for my heart!! xoxoxo