Bruschetta

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Andrew and I loooove bruschetta.  We sometimes have to skip out on it in restaurants because they have cheese (and they can't remove it) but this version is just as tasty and there is no dairy.  

Ingredients: 

• 4 cups peeled seeded and chopped tomatoes (any variety works but Romas are the best)
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves sliced and very finely chopped
• 4 cloves of fresh garlic, smashed and very finely chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh oregano minced
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme minced
• Pinch of kosher salt, to taste
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 
• 2 baguettes (Any French bread would work, but the skinny crusty baguettes work the best)

Directions: 

First, cut the tomatoes into quarters. Then, clean out all of the seeds from the tomatoes using a spoon.  There should be no seeds or juice left inside the tomatoes. 

After that, press each piece of tomato down and cut it into strips, then cubes.  All of the tomato pieces should be about the same size. For the basil, a chiffonade works best.  To do this, stack fresh basil leaves one on top of the other until you get several leaves.  Then roll up the leaves.  Slice very thin slices off of the little roll of leaves.  You will get a very thin shredded look to the basil without bruising the leaves.  Mince the thyme and oregano as well as the garlic. 

Combine the tomatoes, chopped garlic, herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar in a glass or plastic bowl.  Mix well and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. The longer you keep the mixture in the refrigerator, the better it will taste! 

While the bruschetta mixture is cooling, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Slice the baguettes on a diagonal in thin slices.  Drizzle the slices with olive oil and bake the bread in the oven for about 10 minutes or until toasted.  

After the bruschetta has cooled and the bread is toasted, top a little bit of the bruschetta mixture on each slice of bread. 

Bon Appetit!