Description:
This simple Tuscan dish ought to be familiar if you like eating Italian food. Just using sun-ripened cherry tomatoes and the best quality olive oil is enough to make this dish simply delicious!
Ingredients:
300 grams cherry tomatoes
4 sun dried tomatoes
4 tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
16 fresh basil leaves, shredded
2 garlic cloves, peeled
8 slices ciabatta or other Italian bread you may prefer
salt and pepper to suit your taste
Directions:
Use a sharp knife to cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
Slice the sun-dried tomatoes into strips.
Place both types of tomatoes into a bowl. Add the olive oil and the shredded basil leaves, then toss to mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cut the garlic cloves in half. Lightly toast the ciabatta or your preferred Italian bread.
Rub the garlic (cut-side down) over both sides of the bread you just toasted.
Top the toasted bread with the tomato mixture. Transfer to individual plates and serve immediately.
Ciabatta is an Italian rustic bread which is slightly chewy. Its quite good for this recipe as it absorbs the full flavor of the garlic and EVOO.
ReplyDeleteFrom wiki: Ciabatta (Italian pronunciation: [tʃaˈbatːa], literally "carpet slipper") is an Italian white bread made with wheat flour and yeast. The loaf is somewhat elongated, broad and flattish and, like a slipper, should be somewhat collapsed in the middle. Since the late 1990s it has been popular across Europe and in the United States, and is widely used as a sandwich bread.
Ciabatta was first produced in Liguria, although at least one type of ciabatta can be found in nearly every region of Italy nowadays. The ciabatta from the area encompassing Lake Como has a crisp crust, a somewhat soft, porous texture, and is light to the touch. The ciabatta found in Tuscany, Umbria, and Marche varies from bread that has a firm crust and dense crumb, to bread that has a crisper crust and more open texture. The more open-crumbed form, which is usual in the United States, is made from a very wet dough, often requiring machine-kneading, and a biga or sourdough starter.
There are many variations of ciabatta. When made with whole wheat flour, it is known as ciabatta integrale. In Rome, it is often seasoned with olive oil, salt, and marjoram. When milk is added to the dough, it becomes ciabatta al latte.
Variation: plum tomatoes can work very well in this dish too.
ReplyDeleteHalve them and cut them into wedges then mix them with the sun-dried tomatoes.
I've never tried plum and cherry together though..you will have to tell me how that goes :-) although - you say to-mah-to..and I say to-mey-toh...
From wiki and fyi -
ReplyDeleteBruschetta (Italian pronunciation: [brusˈketta] is a food the origin of which dates to at least the 15th century from central Italy. It consists of grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Variations may include toppings of spicy red pepper, tomato, vegetables, beans, cured meat, and/or cheese; the most popular recipe outside of Italy involves basil, fresh tomato, garlic and onion or mozzarella. Bruschetta is usually served as a snack or appetizer.
In English-speaking countries it is commonly pronounced /bruːˈʃɛtə/. The noun "bruschetta" is from the verb in the Roman dialect "bruscare," meaning "to roast over coals".
Following a semantic shift, some Americans mistakenly use the word "bruschetta" to refer to the topping instead of the dish.
Yummy.
ReplyDeleteI can eat a whole bushel of these....right now...*wishful thinking*
ReplyDeleteHmmm, you're making me salivate..i can eat 3 of this in a flash!..yummy & yummy & yummy...it seems so easy!...thanks Cat..(^_^)
ReplyDeletewow Katisha i didnt know ur also a food connoisseur (thank God for spell check!)
ReplyDeletehehehe..Angie...if ever I have a complicated recipe I will post in this site, its only because I want to have an ever-ready recipe book...*wink*
ReplyDeleteI will be concentrating on posting those kinds of food which I love and are the easiest to prepare coz if I cook, I hate waiting a long time to eat my output *grin*
hello Roger...nope, you flatter me...
ReplyDeleteI just like eating and sampling diff foods, but I have always leaned towards Italian...(sometimes Japanese but weirdly, I never get "full" when I eat Japanese cuisine hehehe).
I admit though I enjoy watching cooking shows...Iron Chef America is one which I try not to miss :-)
i remember Pat serving the same thing to us when we were in Singapore...now i miss it a lot!
ReplyDeletetara Mean..let's go to...Cebu...Pat is there :-)
ReplyDelete