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Tomato and basil bruschetta
grilled ciabatta · ripe tomato · torn basil
AI-generated photograph
- Total20 minutes
- Prep15 minutes
- Cook5 minutes
- Serves4
Crisp slices of grilled ciabatta rubbed with raw garlic, piled with ripe chopped tomatoes, torn basil and a generous pour of extra virgin olive oil.
Contains: cereals containing gluten, as written. Of the 14 allergens, only gluten is in this recipe, from the wheat in the ciabatta. Some ciabatta also contains soya flour, so check the packet.
Let's cook
- Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze out most of the seeds and juice over the sink. Chop the flesh into small dice, about 1cm.
- Put the tomatoes in a bowl with the basil, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, a good pinch of salt and some pepper. Stir and leave for 10 minutes so the salt draws out the flavour.
- Heat a griddle pan or a grill to high. Brush the ciabatta slices lightly on both sides with olive oil.
- Griddle or grill the bread for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until crisp with dark stripes or golden patches. Watch it closely: it goes from toasted to burnt quickly.
- While the toast is still hot, rub one side of each slice with the cut side of the garlic. The rough toast works like a grater and picks up just enough garlic.
- Give the tomatoes a stir, then spoon them onto the toasts with a little of their juice. Serve straight away, before the bread softens.
Tips
- Only make this when tomatoes are ripe and red all the way through; pale tomatoes have no flavour.
- Top the toasts at the last minute so they stay crunchy.
- Slightly stale bread is perfect: it toasts crisper.
Swaps
- Gluten free: use slices of gluten free bread, toasted.
- Milder: rub the garlic very lightly, or leave it out for children.
Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.
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