Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil

I love Bruschetta since my new cravings have appeared. So I have started exploring my cookbooks and found this great recipe that I'd like to share since I gobbled up the whole thing in one night.

Bruschetta is one of the simplest things in the world to make, and can be very satisfying if you have good extravirgin olive oil. So let's start... you'll need,

• 6 ripe plum Organic tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1 baguette French bread (this is my favorite
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Cut the tomatoes in halves or quarters and remove the seeds and juice from their centers. Also cut out and discard the stem area. Why use plum tomatoes instead of regular tomatoes? The skins are much thicker and there are fewer seeds and less juice.

Chop up the tomatoes finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. You will want to toast them in the top rack in your oven, so you may need to do these in batches depending on the size of your oven. Once the oven has reached 450°F, place a tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.

Place some topping on each slice of bread and enjoy!

Makes 24 small slices. Serves 6-10 as an appetizer. Or 3-4 for lunch (delicious served with cottage cheese on the side.)

How can you not enjoy? Let me know how it works out!