Bruschetta al pomodoro

Rome's elemental summer antipasto: coarse bread grilled over embers, rubbed with raw garlic, piled with ripe diced tomatoes dressed in basil and olive oil: the preparation that demonstrates how a great tomato needs almost nothing

Origin: Central Italy (Lazio & Tuscany)

From the journey of Tomato.

Bruschetta (from the Roman dialect verb 'bruscare', to roast over coals) is one of the oldest preparations in the Italian canon, predating the tomato by centuries. The original bruschetta was simply grilled bread rubbed with garlic and anointed with new-season olive oil: a vehicle to taste the first pressing of the olive harvest each autumn. Olive oil producers still use bruschetta for this purpose (the hot, porous bread absorbs fresh oil and reveals its character with perfect clarity. The addition of tomato is a post-Columbian development that by the 18th century had made bruschetta al pomodoro the defining summer antipasto of central Italy. The contrast of textures) hot, crunchy, garlicky bread against cool, acidic, juicy tomatoes (is the genius of the preparation. The tomatoes used in the original Roman and Tuscan versions were small, sweet, intensely flavoured summer varieties) not the watery, pale, year-round tomatoes that make most restaurant bruschetta disappointing. The dish is inextricably seasonal: made with the right tomatoes in July or August, it is transcendent. Made with wrong tomatoes in January, it is barely worth eating. The name bruschetta is now often mispronounced in English: the 'ch' in Italian is hard, making it 'broo-SKET-ta', not 'broo-SHET-ta'.

Ingredients

Topping

  • 400 g very ripe, flavoursome tomatoes (cherry tomatoes, San Marzano, or heirloom, not supermarket beef tomatoes)
  • 1 small handful fresh basil leaves, torn not sliced
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, best quality
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 pinch black pepper, freshly ground

Bread

  • 8 thick slices coarse sourdough or pane di casa, 1.5cm thick
  • 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and halved
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, for the bread

Method

  1. Prepare the tomato topping first: dice the tomatoes into rough 1cm pieces (for cherry tomatoes, quarter them). Place in a bowl with the olive oil, basil, salt and pepper. Toss gently and leave to macerate for 15–20 minutes at room temperature. The tomatoes will release their juices and absorb the oil.
  2. Grill the bread slices on a hot griddle pan, over a gas flame, or under a broiler until charred on both sides with visible grill marks and a completely crisp crust. The bread must be genuinely hot and crunchy: limp, merely warm bread ruins the dish.
  3. While the bread is still hot from the grill, rub each slice firmly 2–3 times with the cut face of a garlic clove. The hot bread acts as a grater, shredding the garlic into the crust and infusing it throughout.
  4. Drizzle the garlicky toast with a little olive oil. Spoon the macerated tomatoes generously over the bread, including the accumulated juices. Serve immediately.
  5. Taste and adjust: a little extra flaky salt, a final drizzle of your best olive oil, and possibly a few extra basil leaves. Serve as an antipasto or with cold meats and salumi.

Notes

The canonical Italian rule for bruschetta: only make it when tomatoes are in season. The rest of the year, make garlic bread. The difference between good bruschetta and bad bruschetta is entirely the quality of the tomato: everything else is secondary.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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