Bruschetta

Makes: 4 servings

Time: About 20 minutes

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At its simplest, bruschetta is crisp, hot bread rubbed gently with a clove of garlic, drizzled with lots of good olive oil, and sprinkled with salt: a snack or a starter. But with more toppings it can become a light meal; see the variations and the list on page 624.

Use the best rustic bread you can get your hands on (or make it: see page 597), and slice it thick, so that the outside gets crunchy while the inside stays moist.

  1. Prepare a charcoal or gas grill or turn on the broiler for moderate heat; adjust the rack about 4 inches from the heat source. Grill or broil the bread until lightly browned on both sides, ideally with some grill marks or light charring.
  2. While the bread is still hot, rub the slices with the garlic on one or both sides. Put on a plate, drizzle with oil (a tablespoon or so should do it) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Bruschetta with Tomatoes and Basil Excellent with an assortment of summer tomatoes: Coarsely chop about 1 pound fresh tomatoes. If you have time, put them in a strainer for a few minutes to drain the excess water. When the bread is ready to cook, combine the tomatoes and about 1 cup torn fresh basil leaves in a bowl, along with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Toss to combine. After rubbing the garlic on the bread in Step 2, put the tomato mixture on top each slice. Sprinkle with pepper and serve.

Crostini Thinly sliced and ultra-crisp, these Italian-style crouton-like toasts until recently were known in America as “toast points”: Slice the bread thinner and into smaller pieces so you have between 16 and 24 pieces. Crisp them on a grill, under a broiler, or in a 400°F oven until golden on all sides. Rub them with garlic if you like and top them in any of the ways described in the sidebar and list on page 624.

5 Great Spreads for Bruschetta or Crostini

After toasting the bread, you might think about topping each piece with one of these:

  1. Blue Cheese Dip or Spread or its variations (page 556)
  2. Egg Salad or its variations (page 541)
  3. Tapenade or its variations (page 291)
  4. Bean dips and Hummus (pages 462 to 466)
  5. Virtually any puréed vegetable (page 150 to 153)