Guests Assembled Bruschetta

If you have a grill, this recipe is a simple easy appetizer for perfectly ripe tomatoes.

Let your guest participate by assembling the bruschetta before eating it.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3/4 baguette cut into 1/4 inch diagonal slices (I used a loaf from Grateful Bread. Sooo gooood.)
• 2 large cloves of garlic , peeled
• 1 very large, perfectly ripe heirloom tomato, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1 heaping teaspoon of dried basil or 1 tablespoon of fresh basil chiffonade

Tools:

Cutting board, knife, small bowl, soup spoon, grill or grill pan, tongs

Instructions

1. Turn the grill to medium heat and let get hot. Places the sliced bread on the grill and let them toast on one side. Once toasted (has grill marks), using tongs, flip the bread over and toast on the other side. Using tongs, remove the bread to a serving platter or wooden cutting board.
2. Take one clove of peeled garlic and lightly rub it over the toasted bread slices. When the clove becomes too small to use, use the second clove of garlic to finish rubbing the toasted bread slices.
3. Mix together in the small bowl, the cut up tomato chunks, basil and salt.
4. Let the tomato mixture sit for 30 minutes.
5. To serve, place the bowl of the tomato mixture on the serving platter with the sliced bread. Place a soup spoon in the bowl with the tomato mixture. Let guests use the spoon to place the tomato mixture on the toasted bread.

Notes:

You can add 1 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon olive oil to the tomato mixture. A pinch of red pepper flakes will add just a hint of heat.

I like having the tomato juice, so I didn’t drain the cut tomato. Since the tomato isn’t sitting on the bread, you don’t have to worry about the bread getting soggy.