Easy Tomato Bruschetta

I’ve been on an easy snack food kick all weekend long, which isn’t unusual for me in the summertime. We are starting to see an abundance of tomatoes in the farmer’s market and in the grocery stores finally, and I even think some of our home-grown tomatoes are considering ripening. This tomato bruschetta takes advantage of that summer abundance – it’s a great way to use up both tomatoes and basil.

My inspiration for this recipe comes from the movie Juile and Julia, which I admit to watching during a hotel stay recently. I particularly love the scenes in the movie in which the only reader of Julie’s blog is her mother – I’ve had my own moments starting out with my food blog when I’ve wondered if I have any other readers out there beside my mom and a couple of loyal friends. But I digress – what really stayed with me was a scene in which Julie is making bruschetta by toasting slices of bread in a pan in a lot of butter. The golden browned bread is then laden with tomatoes and basil – and dinner is served. The key here is the butter. Don’t skimp – it’s not worth it to try to be healthy on this recipe. The tomatoes are plenty healthy, anyway.

Pair with a light, fruity white wine. I finished off a bottle of Semillon with this. It would pair well with a Vinho Verde or similar.

Tomato Bruschetta
Serves 2

8 slices of a baguette or similar
2-3 tablespoons butter
1 heirloom tomato
1 small bunch basil (about 8 – 10 leaves)
Olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half
Salt

Melt the butter in a non-stick or cast-iron pan over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the bread and toast on each side until it is golden brown.

Meanwhile, chop the tomato into a small dice. Chop the basil finely and mix basil and tomato together. Drizzle with olive oil.

Rub the garlic clove half over each slice of toasted bread. Spoon the tomato and basil mixture on the bread, and sprinkle with a bit of salt. Enjoy!