You heard that right: you can now have the iconic flavours of the most famous pizza in the world on a bruschetta. The best appetizer out there.
Bruschetta is one of the most iconic Italian meals. What makes them appealing is the fact that they are so easy to make. And well, they are bloody delicious too. In a way, they could be compared to Italian tacos, as the bread is the vessel to carry all of these amazing, fresh ingredients, just like a tortilla. One of the most popular version is the simple garlic and fresh tomato bruschetta, which is so fresh and perfect for summer. In Ialy, though, more and more restaurants are experimenting with bruschettas, upgrading them from quick starter to a full main course and I am really not mad about it.
There is just something satisfying in toasting some slices of thick bread and loading them with your favourite ingredients, sauces, cheeses. So since bruschettas are the perfect, easy summer food, they have been on repeat for weeks over here. And it was whilst planning my weekly meals that it hit me: why not making a bruschetta that tastes like margherita pizza? As a person who always craves pizza but can't be bothered to make it, this made perfect sense. AND. IT. BLEW. MY. MIND.
This was so delicious. Gooey melted cheese, the best marinara sauce, perfectly crunchy bread. The easiest summer appetizer. Bring them to a socially distanced picnic, a pot luck or have them as a quick and simple lunch. You simply can't go wrong.
The Fundamentals of Making the Perfect Bruschetta:
Focus on Simplicity: you really don't need to overthink bruschetta. It's a blank canvas, waiting to be filled with the flavours you love. Overloading it with flavours will not do anything for it. Focus on two or three key ingredients instead.
Choose High-Quality Ingredients: because we are using so few ingredients, we need to make sure that they are high-quality. The flavours will literally burst in your mouth, feeling fresh and delicious. You just can't beat it.
Pronounce It Correctly: for some reason, the world pronounces it brushetta. Is it correct? No. The correct pronunciation? Brusketta. Now go on, be that annoying person who has to pronounce their order perfectly when they are eating at an Italian restaurant. 'Cause that's me.
Key Steps to Make This Margherita Pizza Bruschetta:
Toast your bread: you can use the toaster for this or a sandwich press, but my favourite way to toast it is on a non-stick pan with some olive oil brushed on top of it.
Make your marinara sauce: mix your passata, garlic, olive oil, salt and oregano. Then spoon it on the toasted bread.
Sprinkle the mozzarella: unfortunately, we need to use shredded mozzarella here rather than fresh (aka, my favourite), because fresh mozzarella will make the bread soggy. But sprinkle that shredded mozza generously, everywhere, all over it.
Bake it 'till you make it: once you see that lovely mozzarella melting and bubbling away and the crusty bread getting slightly charred, it's time to take them out of the oven and dig in!
Ingredients:
Makes 4 medium bruschettas
4 slices of good quality bread (I used sourdough)
80 gr shredded mozzarella
120 gr passata
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
extra virgin olive oil
a handful of fresh basil leaves
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Brush a little extra virgin olive oil on one side of the bread slices and toast them on a non-stick pan on the oily side, for 2 to 3 minutes. Alterantively, you can toast them in the toaster or in a sandwich press.
In a medium bowl, mix together the passata, salt, oregano and 2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil.
Line a baking tray with some baking paper and transfer the bread slices to it. On the toasted side, spoon about 2 tbsp of the marinara sauce per slice, then drizzle generously with the shredded mozzarella.
Bake them in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the mozzarella has fully melted and has started to bubble.
Take the bruschettas out of the oven, leave them to cool for a couple of minutes and then top them with some fresh basil leaves.
Enjoy!
Did you try this recipe? We'd love to hear from you! Let us know how it turned out by leaving a comment below! Xx
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