You Need a Better Bruschetta

Anyone who likes to go out to Italian restaurants knows what bruschetta is. It's not difficult to make and most Italian restaurants have their own way of making it.

This recipe was created to use all the ingredients that Steve and I love. I try to add kalamata olives to dishes whenever I can and, in this recipe, it makes perfect sense. I usually melt Fontina cheese on the toasted bread and then top it with the tomato mixture, but this time it was a last-minute decision to make the bruschetta and I used the ingredients I had. However, I think the addition of the cheese makes this unique bruschetta even better.

Michele and Steve’s Bruschetta

Ingredients:

1 French baguette
5 plum tomatoes, seeded, and finely chopped
12 Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
½ red bell pepper, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic- finely chopped (or to taste, depends on size of cloves)
1 small red onion
10 leaves basil, chiffonade
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper 
Fontina cheese thinly sliced (optional)

Mix tomatoes, olives, bell pepper, garlic, onion, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. Taste and add more salt if needed. 
Slice bread and bake or broil on high until lightly toasted. Keep an eye on it...it will burn quickly.
If using Fontina, place one slice on each piece of bread, then bake or broil until melted and bubbling.
Add about one tablespoon of brushetta to each slice of bread. 

Enjoy!

My Italian Grandmother is a weekly column from Michele Brigante, an accomplished home cook who draws inspiration from her first cooking teacher–her Italian grandmother. Join her every week and she will walk you through a recipe you never thought you could manage. Some are original recipes, some are adapted from cookbooks–we can't wait to try them.

Michele is from Morris Plains, and when she's not whipping up delicious dishes, she works as a design consultant for Willow House.