(optimistic music)
(grunting)
- Hey everybody, it's Natasha of natashaskitchen.com
and today I'm gonna teach you
how we make our all-time favorite bruschetta.
That's how they pronounce it in Italian, I hope.
(laughs)
Anyway, this is a crowd-pleasing appetizer
and wait 'til you see what we put on top of these
at the very end.
Aw, it's so good.
(giggling)
Okay I'm hungry, let's get started.
We'll start with six medium Roma tomatoes
or about one 1/2 pounds
and if you have access to homegrown tomatoes,
that's even better.
Remove the cores, then dice up all of your tomatoes.
We love using our favorite food chopper for this.
It makes tomato bruschetta so easy.
I'll leave a link to this tool in the notes.
Once your tomatoes are all chopped up,
you'll wanna drain off any excess liquid.
Transfer your tomatoes to a medium mixing bowl
and now we're gonna get started on the fresh basil.
Because this has so few ingredients,
getting the best ingredients is really important,
so you'll wanna use fresh basil.
Pluck off one third cup of fresh basil leaves.
Because basil is such a delicate herb,
the way you slice it is important
so you don't crush the basil.
Stack the leaves, then roll them up.
Now use a sharp knife to thinly slice
or chiffonade the basil into thin ribbons.
Add your chopped basil to the tomatoes.
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Now, onto the garlic
which adds amazing flavor to bruschetta.
Finely mince about five cloves of garlic
and you can add the garlic to taste.
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And before we forget, you'll wanna set aside
about one garlic cloves worth of minced garlic.
Transfer that to a small bowl
with three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
We'll need that for later.
Add the rest of the chopped garlic to your tomato mixture.
We're gonna finish off that tomato mixture
with two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil,
one tablespoon of balsamic vinegar,
half a teaspoon of salt
and a quarter teaspoon of black pepper.
Stir that together to combine.
We're gonna set that aside to marinate
for about 15 to 30 minutes
and, oh, does this mixture smell so good.
(upbeat music)
Meanwhile preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
with the rack in the center of the oven.
You'll need one, long baguette
and this happens to be a French baguette.
Cut that into half inch thick slices
and I like to cut them diagonally
for a prettier presentation.
Now arrange the toast
on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Now, remember that olive oil
that we infused with fresh, minced garlic?
We're gonna brush that on both sides of the toasts.
Now, flip 'em over and repeat.
You'll wanna use up all of that garlic-infused olive oil.
Once those are all oiled up,
you'll wanna top each toast with a little bit
of shredded Parmesan cheese and I'm using
about one third to one half cup total cheese.
(giggling)
Now, bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about five minutes,
then increase the heat to broil on high heat
for one to two minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
Oh, it is time for the taste test
and when I'm serving these for a gathering or party,
I like to put them on a platter
and just keep the tomato part
and the bread separate.
This way the breads stay extra crisp
and people can just build their own.
Okay, 'cause once you have that topping on there,
you'll wanna eat it pretty quickly afterwards.
'Cause it'll soften up the bread.
Ah, and these are so crisp.
All right, I'm excited and I'm gonna show you
my favorite way to build these.
These bruschetta or bruschetta.
So, we're gonna make a few of 'em.
Okay.
So, first pile it high with this tomato mixture.
This adds so much great flavor.
Love the freshness of tomatoes
and, when they're in season, this is even better.
So, you have to try this with fresh tomatoes.
And one more.
Again, lots of tomatoes.
Pile 'em high.
Now for just a little extra topping,
you can either drizzle them
with some extra virgin olive oil.
So, we'll do one of those with oil, just a little bit.
It adds that fresh olive oil flavor
and my personal favorite and this is so good.
This is something that I learned from a restaurant
that we went to and we ordered their bruschetta
and it was just life-changing.
(laughs)
This recipe's actually based on that.
So, this is our balsamic glaze.
We have a really easy homemade version of this
or you can use a store-bought one.
But you can just drizzle a little bit over the top
as a garnish and it adds really great flavor.
Okay, so we're gonna do this taste test
'cause I can not wait any longer.
I'm gonna go
the one with the balsamic, my favorite first.
(hums)
This is so delicious.
(giggles)
I love how that Parmesan cheese adds
that little salty bite to the toast
and they are so crispy on the outside,
but still soft on the inside
and then that tomato topping with the fresh basil.
It has this punch of garlic which is so nice.
But it's mellowed out because it's been sitting
and marinating for a little bit.
This is amazing, totally restaurant quality.
It feels like you're sitting in an Italian bistro.
Do they have bistros in Italy?
I don't know.
(laughs)
It's good.
I hope you guys find this
to be a new favorite for you
and I have to taste test the other one
because I have to.
I have to tell you how it tastes, you know?
Okay.
(humming)
So crunchy.
Really, really good.
Get the best quality olive oil you can find.
'Cause this is so simple, simple ingredients.
So, when you can get the best ingredients,
it makes all the difference.
I hope these become a new favorite for you
and we'll see you in our next video.
Yeah, I'm gonna come into the scene with my mitten.
My mitten.
(clapping) Okay.
Oh.
(chuckling)
Hello.
(laughs)
Hello.
(laughing)
Nope, nope, let's do one more.
(laughs)
That looks really ugly.
I kind of forgot to arrange them.
(sighs)
(laughs)