How to Make Traditional Tomato and Basil Bruschetta

Bruschetta is a popular menu item at many Italian restaurants. Usually served as an appetizer, the most common form of bruschetta is the traditional tomato and basil bruschetta. For the person seeking to learn how to make traditional tomato and basil bruschetta, here is a guide explaining how.

Italian in origin, bruschetta itself, is actually thin slices of Italian bread, which have been rubbed with olive oil and garlic, then grilled until lightly browned, or, thin slices of Italian bread which have been grilled first, then rubbed with garlic and oil. There are as many variations on bruschetta, as there are cooks. Through the years however, the combination of diced tomatoes and fresh basil, often bathed in a balsamic vinaigrette dressing, has become the standard- bearer for bruschetta in most American restaurants.

For the cook learning how to make traditional tomato and basil bruschetta, it is important to 'think small'. The tomatoes,(preferrably seeded) should be cut into a small dice. Because the recipe included in this guide contains red onion, that too, must be cut into a small dice. The garlic should be minced, or chopped- fine. The classic way to cut fresh basil for traditional tomato and basil bruschetta, is to 'chiffonade' the fresh. green herb. To make a chiffonade cut with the fresh basil, take several leaves and stack them on top of each other. Starting at the bottom/ center, 'roll' the leaves into a tight cylinder, like rolling a crepe or a cigarette. Hold the cylinder together with one hand, and very carefully, slice the cylinder of basil with a knife, as fine as possible. This will result in strands, or threads of fresh basil, which must be pulled apart. Not only does this type of cut look nice, but it is also more palatable, or desirable to eat when sliced ultra- thin. The strands or threads of basil are more 'mouth- friendly' than torn pieces of leaves or a larger cut.