Tomato Bruschetta | with avocado

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Tomato bruschetta is crunchy, juicy, garlicky and perfect as an appetizer, dinner, or even for brunch. The recipe is simple, and you can make it in 10 minutes with a few ingredients.

Here we are going to show you how to make Italian tomato bruschetta, and then we show you our favourite variation: tomato-avocado bruschetta.

Jump to:

• Introduction to bruschetta
• Ingredients & Substitutions
• Equipment
• How to make tomato bruschetta
• Tips
• Questions & answers
• Variations
• Storage
• Side dishes
• Dinner ideas
• Recipe

Introduction to bruschetta

Tomato bruschetta, pronounced "bruˈsketta" is a humble, yet incredibly delicious meal, made from thick grilled slices of stale bread rubbed with garlic and topped with a mix of good quality olive oil, salt and tomatoes.

It has become such a loved dish that these days you'll find bruschetta served during aperitivo in fancy Italian bars and cafes in hip neighbourhoods around Rome, Florence and Milan.

If you are lucky to travel around the Italian countryside you can try this dish made with homemade sourdough bread toasted on a charcoal grill rubbed with garlic while still warm and topped with cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt.

The combination of these simple ingredients is a match made in heaven.

In this post, we make a classic tomato bruschetta and a more modern version with avocado. However, you can top your bruschetta with pretty much anything you have at hand. See the "variation" chapter below for more ideas.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Bread: good bread from your local baker, ideally a big wide loaf made from mainly wheat flour and even better if made with sourdough. Get one with a compact crumb and a nice crust and cut slices that are at least 0.6 inches (1.5 cm) thick.
  
  Avoid packaged toast bread for bruschetta, its texture is too soft and weak. It won't hold your toppings and it won't be as satisfying when you bite into it.
  
  Also avoid baguettes as the slice will be too small and too soft to hold the toppings and it will get too moist too fast.
  
• Garlic: to brush on the bread, and for the tomato mix.
  
• Extra virgin olive oil: if you can afford it invest in some good quality extra virgin olive oil. The best oils are generally cold pressed but they can get very expensive.

• Vine tomatoes, roma tomatoes, beef tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes: it's important that the tomatoes are ripe, but not over-ripe, to have the best flavour. If it's not tomato season opt for small cherry tomatoes.
  
• Balsamic vinegar: if you can, look for a quality stamp that says that says "Aceto Balsamico di Modena I.G.P." That means that the vinegar is made in a protected and specific geographical area around Modena in Italy, following traditional methods of production.
  
• Basil leaves: fresh basil is my personal favourite for this bruschetta, however you can replace this with dried or fresh oregano.
  
• Salt and pepper.
  
• Avocado: (optional) while avocado is not a traditional bruchetta ingredient, we think it makes the bruschetta even more delicious. Try to add some, chopped, to the tomato mix.

Equipment

We use a serrated knife to cut the bread and the tomatoes. This way is easier.

How to make tomato bruschetta

Rinse the tomatoes, dry them, then with a paring knife remove their stem. With a serrated knife (bread knife) cut the tomatoes into slices. Then cut the tomato slices into small dice of similar size.

If you use cherry or plum tomatoes, cut them into 4 or 8 pieces, depending on how big they are.

In a bowl, add the diced tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, crushed and peeled garlic cloves, salt, pepper, and basil leaves that you tear apart with your hands.

If the tomatoes release a lot of water, discard some of it.

Mix well with a spoon until all the ingredients are well combined together. Taste and if necessary adjust flavour. Let marinate at room temperature for about 10 - 15 minutes.

In the meantime, slice the bread into 0.6 inches (1.5 cm) thick slices. Toast the bread in the oven - preferably with grill function - until golden and crunchy.

If the edges of the bread get dark and burned, scrap away that part with a knife as it is very unhealthy to eat.

If you have a charcoal grill, go ahead and toast your bread there. Your bruschetta will be even tastier.

At this stage, if you want, add the avocado. Cut in half, remove the stone, cut it into dice and scoop out the flesh. Then add it to the tomatoes and mix it with a spoon, gently.

Put the toasted bread on a cutting board or serving plate, rub it with garlic while still warm, then with a spoon put some tomato mix on top. Add some juice too to moisten the toasted bread.

If you want to make white bruschetta you just need to rub the toasted bread with some garlic, then add some good quality extra virgin olive oil and sea salt on top.

Tips

Use the right tomatoes
During tomato season - that is from May to October in the northern hemisphere - try to get your hands on organic red ripe tomatoes from sunny regions. In winter opt for small cherry or date tomatoes.

Keep the tomatoes out of the refrigerator
Eat raw tomatoes at room temperature for the best flavour. When you eat your tomatoes cold they won't taste as much.

Marinate the tomatoes
Marinating your tomato mix is important to get a fuller flavour. The garlic will infuse your mix without overpowering it and the tomatoes will absorb some of the salt and vinegar that will enhance their taste. You only need 15 minutes at room temperature for this.

Drain off excess tomato water
If your tomatoes are watery (and if you buy them at the supermarket they will be watery), remove at least half of their water, or else your bruschetta with tomatoes will be too wet. You want to leave some of the water as it is full of taste and will help soften the bread.

Rub with garlic
Rub the garlic on the bread while still hot. The heat will help the garlic aroma infuse into all the little cracks of the bread crumb. It will taste so much better than just adding garlic into your toppings.

Questions & answers

Variations

You can top the bruschetta with almost any vegetable. The most important thing is that you season or cook the vegetable first. Here are some examples:

• Sautéed mushrooms with parsley: in a pan sauté some chopped mushrooms with a tbsp of olive oil and a clove of garlic. Season with salt, pepper and freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley.
  
• Red peppers: roast whole red peppers in the oven for 1 hour. Peel them and clean them, then marinate them for 15 min in olive oil, vinegar, crushed garlic, salt, pepper and fresh basil.
  
• Roasted aubergines: roast some round slices of aubergine in the oven at 200˚C (390˚F) for 30 minutes, then brush them with an mix of olive oil, salt and finely chopped garlic and parsley.
  
• Avocado mash: use a guacamole recipe, or just mash some ripe avocado with a fork, then add olive oil, salt, pepper, and a dash of lemon juice or vinegar.
  
• Cauliflower mash: steam or boil the cauliflower, then mash it with a fork in a bowl. Then add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, finely chopped parsley and a clove of crushed garlic. Mix with a spoon and let marinate 15 min.
  
• Chickpea tomato mix: add some chickpeas to the tomato mix described above.
  
• Broccoli mash: boil or steam some broccoli, then mash it in a bowl, add olive oil, salt, and chili flakes.
  
• Sautéed spinach: in a pan warm up a tbsp of olive oil with a crushed clove of garlic. Then add the spinach and sauté until the spinach water has evaporated. Add salt, pepper and some chili flakes.
  
• Any type of hummus: classic chickpea hummus, red pepper hummus, fava bean hummus. Rub the bread with some extra garlic for the best hummus bruschetta, then drizzle with some good olive oil and sea salt.
  
• Melted vegan cheese: get your favourite vegan cheese and place it on the bread before toasting the bread in the oven. Or even better, make your own vegan Italian cheese in 5 minutes, and melt in on a delicious slice of bruschetta.

Storage

Eat your bruschetta with tomatoes as soon as it's ready to preserve its fragrance and crunch.

You can however store the toppings in the fridge for a few days in an airtight container. You can also store the bread in a bread basket for up to a week before turning it into bruschetta.

In the past farmers prepared bruschetta with stale bread, so don't worry if your bread is a bit dry. It will regain crunch and moisture once you warm it up and add some toppings to it.

Side dishes

If you travel around Italy you will notice that restaurants and pizzerias serve bruschetta with tomatoes as a starter and in more recent days as an aperitivo before the dinner.

At home Italians most often eat bruschetta as a main meal in the evening. People just toast a bunch of leftover bread, rub it with garlic, and serve it with all the leftovers they have in the house.

In our home, we like to eat bruschetta for dinner next to a massive salad full of leafy greens and legumes (chickpeas, lentils or beans) to get the best nutritional profile out of our meal and get a full protein profile with simple healthy ingredients.

Dinner ideas

Did you know that we develop our recipes to go together for a complete dinner meal plan? Serve this crunchy tomato bruschetta as a starter, followed by:

Baked tofu with lemon and olives as the main dish.

Roasted potatoes with rosemary as a side dish to the baked tofu.

Recipe

If you liked this recipe, you might also like:

• Potato salad
• Panzanella salad (stale-bread Italian salad)
• Roasted bell peppers
• Italian barley salad
• Roasted veggies

Did you try this recipe at home? Let us know in the comments below, or take a picture and tag us on Instagram @italiaplantbased.

Buon appetito!

Nico