Tomato and Mozzarella Bruschetta

I can’t believe it’s mid-October and I am writing a recipe for tomatoes we have just harvested from our plants. We took the last of the crop from the plants at the weekend and we have some lovely ripe ones – which I have used in this tomato and mozzarella bruschetta and some turkey sandwiches for lunch earlier in the week. We also have a vat of green ones which Jim tells me will start to get blight in the damp weather… so they are in the house awaiting a green tomato chutney recipe.

Insalata Caprese

When it comes to the combinations of flavours that work well together tomato and mozzarella are right up there for me. Insalata Caprese is perhaps my favourite salad of all time. Nigel Slater does a great job of explaining the importance of the ingredients in his article for the Guardian in 2010. I agree with all his suggestions… Especially buying the best quality mozzarella you can afford. But alas I made the cardinal sin here and used a cheap and cheerful mozzarella that we had in for pizza making. Sorry, Nigel!

Making it work for you

As with all my food, you will come to see that I will always adapt to make it work for the situation at hand. If I had of planned this meal I would have ordered this Buffalo Mozzarella Campana on my Ocado shop. But I didn’t, and it still worked, and I lost no sleep over the quality of the mozzarella. At the end of the day, I have a family to feed. This isn’t a test kitchen and I haven’t made this six times in a row for perfection. I just make what we eat and I don’t have time to worry about the things that aren’t perfect. You can make the best out of any tomato or mozzarella with a little creativity… salt, basil and olive oil are your friends!

Room temperature tomatoes

I had basil in for a quick midweek Family Feed Pesto and ciabatta is almost always on our Ocado delivery. If you can plan ahead with this meal then my tips are much the same as Nigel’s… Tear the basil, don’t chop/slice with a knife because you release more flavour when you tear it. Have your tomatoes at room temperature – it improves the flavour and I think they are juicier and nicer to eat.

The best bread for bruschetta

I always use a toasted ciabatta, some people prefer sourdough, others baguette – it really doesn’t matter. Again do what works for you or whatever you have in. I believe the Italians grill their bread over an open flame… I grill mine in the oven. Get everything else ready before you grill the bread. As soon as it’s done you should get to work rubbing the surface of the bread with a fresh, whole clove of garlic. The more you rub the more intense the garlic flavour will be. You want to dress the bruschetta while it’s still hot so that it absorbs the oil and the tomato juices – the mozzarella should be left in the water it comes in until the very last minute. It will start to dry out if you drain it too soon.

How to serve Bruschetta

Bruschetta is a great middle of the table food which is how we always serve it. Everyone dips in and takes what they want. If you are cooking for someone who doesn’t like mozzarella you can leave a portion with just tomato. You can add it to a feast alongside other picky foods, have it individually portioned as a starter or make a bit more of a meal of it and have it for lunch or dinner.

Swapping out ingredients

The beauty of food like this is that you can adapt it. If you have a dairy-free diet you can omit the mozzarella and add finely chopped red onions to your tomato. If you want to swap the mozzarella for another cheese then feta works amazingly well too. I love tomato and king prawns (pan-fired in chilli and garlic) in place of the mozzarella. Don’t be afraid to experiment and top your bruschetta with your favourite mouthfuls.

Tomato and Mozzarella Bruschetta

Gemma

When it comes to the combinations of flavours that work well together tomato and mozzarella are right up there for me. Insalata Caprese is perhaps my favourite salad of all time. Bruschetta is a great middle of the table food which is how we always serve it. Everyone dips in and takes what they want. You can add it to a feast alongside other picky foods, have it individually portioned as a starter or make a bit more of a meal of it and have it for lunch or dinner.

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 0 mins

Course Lunch

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 1 loaf Ciabatta
• 150 g Mozzarella
• 375 g tomatoes mixed variety is a nice way of creating different flavours and colours
• 1 clove garlic
• a good drizzle olive oil extra virgin
• 6-10 leaves basil
• sea salt to taste
• cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

 

Prep your ingredients

• Cut your tomatoes roughly. I really like imperfection here
• In a bowl add a good grind of salt to taste and drizzle genourously with olive oil. I seperate some of the tomatoes for the children before I add the salt.
• Mix the tomatoes, olive oil and salt together. You will see the juices of the tomato encorporating with the oil as the tomatoes macerate. This is a lovely flavour that will soak into your hot ciabatta.
• Tear 5-6 of your basil leaves and add to the bowl.
• Slice your ciabatta lengthways and grill on both sides.
• Meanwhile peel your garlic and set aside.

Assemble you bruschetta

• Remove your bread from the grill and rub the garlic on to the surface of the bread. As you do this the clove of garlic will get smaller as it grated away. The more you rub the stronger the flavour of garlic.
• Cut your ciabatta on to diagonal strips and place on a platter or plate and drizzle with olive oil.
• Add your tomatoes and basil on top of the bread and arrange accordingly. I like to leave them more or less where they fall. Make sure all the juice from the bottom of the bowl makes its way on to the bread. It's a taste sensation!
• Finally top with your mozzarella and some extra basil leaves and cracked black pepper to finish. I like to tear the mozzarella and place it over the tomato.

Video

Keyword tomato and mozzarella