Bruschetta

By khoglan1

Ingredients

• 12 - 12'' section of baguette
• two - two large tomatoes
• one - one small onion
• - a handful of fresh basil
• three - three cloves of garlic
• 1/3 - 1/3 C grated or crumbled cheese (I used parmesan on half the pieces, and a herbed sheep's milk cheese on the other)
• - olive oil
• - salt, pepper, piment d'espelette (substitute red pepper flakes)

Details

Servings 2

Preparation

Step 1

Halve the tomatoes, remove the seeds and the juice, and cut them in small dice. Peel and dice the onion. Chop the basil leaves. If you have a garlic press, squish two of the cloves. If you don't, peel them and chop them finely.

Put the tomatoes, onion, basil and garlic in a bowl. Add a little olive oil, salt, pepper and piment d'espelette to taste. If you have time, cover and let rest in the fridge for a few hours or overnight, so the flavors can meld.

Cut the baguette in half, then slice each half lengthwise. Toast the bread pieces in the toaster or the oven. Cut the last garlic clove in two halves. Rub the moist sides of the clove halves on the bread, and brush a little olive oil. Distribute the tomato mixture evenly between the four pieces, and sprinkle cheese on top.

Put the bruschetta pieces under the broiler for 5 to 10 minutes, until the cheese starts to melt. Serve immediately, with a mesclun salad.

This was a delicious weeknight dinner : quick to make, very pretty, and what could be more satisfying than garlicky crusty bread, melty cheese, and flavorful tomatoes, eaten with your fingers? Of course, it would also make a very nice opener, or even finger food, if cut into bite-size pieces.