We invite friends over for dinner fairly regularly. When company’s coming, I’m always so focused on getting the the main course and a dessert put together that appetizers are an afterthought. You’ve heard me say before that I’m usually scrambling at the last minute to find some cheese and olives and hoping against hope that there are some crackers in the pantry that aren’t stale. I’ve even been known to fly over to Trader Joe’s minutes before guest are arriving to pick up a pre-dinner snack.
Well, you don’t have to tell me that cheese and crackers don’t live up to what I’m capable of making. I finally decided that I must come up with a repertoire of easy snacks that I could prepare in a few minutes. This versatile starter quickly climbed to the top of my easy-to-put-together appetizer list and is appropriate to serve with almost any meal.
You may be thinking that tomato bruschetta is only a summer appetizer. Clearly, good tomatoes make a difference and I’ll always opt for heirloom tomatoes if I can find them. However, I’ve also used the basic Roma tomatoes that I get at my supermarket with great success. When you doctor them up with basil, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar, most tomatoes will work for this recipe any time of the year.
My dinner guest always enjoy these bruschetta and they never know that it only took me minutes to put them together.
Ingredients
2 cups chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoon coarsely chopped basil
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for brushing baguette slices
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 baguette, cut into 12 3/4 inch slices
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine tomatoes, basil, 1 tablespoon olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
2. Brush baguette slices with olive oil and place on large baking sheet. Top each slice with mozzarella. Bake for 10 minutes to 15 minutes or until bread and cheese are slightly browning.
3. Remove from oven and top each slice with tomato mixture.
4. Serve immediately.
https://southernboydishes.com/2013/09/10/tomato-mozzarella-and-basil-bruschetta/
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Thank you for the delicious yet simple recipe. It turned out so good!
Thanks for the feedback, Deborah! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
this was excellent. next time I won’t use the pre-sliced mozz, as I would have liked it thinner. But overall, lovely bruschetta. thanks for sharing.
I just made this last night and it was excellent, although on the juicy side. I used an Australian Heart tomato, which is my go-to tomato for fresh chops in recipes like pico de gallo, and as it was from my garden, it was especially juicy. So, I don’t know if I can say there was too much balsamic, for instance. But alas, the flavor seemed just right. Thank you. I hope to see you tweeting again soon.
Very delicious! I’m not a big fan of tomatoes but this works for me only way I enjoy tomatoes!
I’m pretty new to cooking ‘real’ food…I’m passionate about fresh , quality ingredients and had never even tried bruschetta until I made it recently!
This is a wonderful, easy way of serving up one of new favourite dishes 😊
this is DELISH (:
Just made this tonight, it’s delicious and simple, thanks for this great recipe!
So glad you liked the recipe. Thanks for dropping by!
This is a staple in my house, but I have never toted the bread. Another excellent ap is apple slices and bree. ..microwave melted of course…
This is our go to bruschetta recipe all summer long. We started making it last summer and continue to come back again and again for the recipe. Thanks!
Thanks so much Mandy. So glad you like it!!
I actually think the best tomatoes come in during the fall so I’m loving these bruschettas! Picking up some tomatoes at the market tomorrow and might just have to have these for lunch!
These flavors are such a classic combo! But such a good one, and this brushchetta looks terrific. We entertain a lot, too, and I’m somewhat the same way with starters – I just ignore them. Over the last year or so I’ve gotten much better, though. This looks like one I should make – thanks.
An absolutely beautiful starter and ohh my your pictures are stunning.