One of the best appetizers you can serve during spring and summer, bruschetta! Next to pasta, it doesn’t get much more Italian than bruschetta. Dating back to the 15th century, the Italians bring their culinary power to a dish that primarily consists of five base ingredients, tomatoes, basil, balsamic, garlic and olive oil.
From here, you can get creative and start playing around. So today, I decided that I would experiment with grilled tomatoes and I’m glad I did! This appetizer had everyone asking for more. And for you gluten-free folks, only swap is to gluten-bread and you are good to go!
Fast Facts
Category: Appetizers
Cut: Roma (Plum) Tomatoes
Weight: 4 tomatoes
Grill: Dyna-Glo Grill
Heat Source: Gas
Prep Time: 5-10 Minutes
Estimated Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Actual Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Total Time: 30 Minutes
Estimated Cooking Temperature: 400-450 degrees
Actual Cooking Temperature: 400-450 degrees
Cook Date: September 27, 2020
Ingredient List
4 Roma (also known as Plum) tomatoes, cored and halved
1/3 cup of olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic, minced (1 teaspoon roughly equals 2 cloves)
2 tablespoons basil, coarsely chopped
1 baguette of bread
Salt and pepper
Supply List
Helpful tools: Garlic peeler and garlic press
Instructions
Step 1: In a mixing bowl, add olive oil and diced garlic. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. This allows the garlic to infuse in the oil.
Step 2: Pre-heat your grill to high heat, roughly 400-450 degrees.
Step 3: Remove the tops of your tomatoes, cut in half, and core the tomatoes. Add tomatoes to a mixing bowl or Ziploc bag and add 1 tablespoon of the garlic oil to coat the tomatoes.
Step 4: Slice your baguette into slices and brush the garlic infused oil on both sides of the bread.
Step 5: It’s grilling time. Place your tomatoes, cut side down, and grill for 3 minutes on each side. Remove from the grill.
Step 6: Place your bread slices on the grill, grill for 1 minute a side but BE CAREFUL. Keep an eye on the bread. Remove from grill once grilled to liking.
TIP: I recommend flipping the bread every 20-30 seconds to ensure none get too burnt.
Step 7: Once tomatoes have cooled enough to where you can handle them, you should be able to remove the skin of the tomato easily. If possible, remove the skin, if not, no worries. Coarsely chop the tomatoes.
Step 8: Place the tomatoes back in a mixing bowl, add the balsamic vinegar, 75% of your chopped basil (save the remaining for garnish), another tablespoon of the oil mixture (be sure to get that good diced garlic in there), and then add salt and pepper to taste.
Step 9: Mix the ingredients, top your toasted baguette with as much of the mix as desired, and garnish with the remaining basil.
Enjoy!
Lessons Learned (Note: I will update this section to include your lessons learned from the comment section)