Tomato and Mozzarella Bruschetta
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.
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.