Bruschetta

A few days ago, The Mom mentioned bruschetta. Instantly, I thought of my trip to Italy. After a few days in Rome, the second leg of the trip took my friend and me to Sienna for a few days. During our stay in Sienna, we decided to visit Monteriggioni, a walled town on a hill surrounded by vineyards (this is Chianti country, kids!). I had read about Monteriggioni's historical significance before we left on our trip, and I was very intrigued, and we agreed to give it a shot. Since this post isn't a history lesson or travel guide, I'll leave it to you to read more about it on your own. :)

 This post is about bruschetta...a wonderfully simply dish I first experienced inside the walls of Monteriggioni - half the plate was made with tomatoes, and the other half was made with cannellini beans. (This was also the first time I had a sip of Chianti, and I've been hooked ever since! Talk about a great day!!) Since that day, every time I order bruschetta, it has to live up to what I ate so many years ago. I have yet to have anything off a restaurant menu that even comes close, so today, I finally decided to recreate it myself.

Today's lunch using yellow cherry tomatoes left from last week...so yummy!

For me, this dish is about simplicity and quality ingredients. Fresh tomatoes are of utmost importance here. I cannot stress that enough. I think commercially-grown tomatoes taste like wax, so I suggest buying locally-grown tomatoes since they will give you the best flavor. Also, fresh basil is a must! The dried stuff just doesn't pack the same flavor punch. You can find this in most grocery store produce departments, but it usually looks pretty sad, in my opinion. I strongly suggest going to the garden store and buying a plant you can grow and harvest yourself. It's not difficult to grow, and you can use it in a variety of dishes.

I've seen a lot of recipes floating around on the internet that use everything from various cheeses to balsamic vinegar. I, personally, don't think any of this is necessary. Let the tomatoes and basil shine...and trust me, with quality ingredients, they will!

So, at the Farmers' Market this morning, I found some glorious red and yellow cherry tomatoes and a lovely loaf of ciabatta bread.

Aren't they beautiful?!

At that point, I was on a mission! When I got home, I picked some fresh basil (my plants have recovered fairly well from their stint as a beetle buffet), and the rest is history.

I wish I could describe how amazing this smells!

Here's what I did:

Tomato Bruschetta
1 quart cherry tomatoes, washed and diced into 1/4" pieces
3-4 T fresh, chopped basil
olive oil
Kosher salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Naked diced tomatoes waiting to get get dressed in awesome-ness!

Combine the tomatoes and chopped basil in a medium bowl. Toss with enough olive oil to lightly coat the tomatoes, about 1-2 T. Add Kosher salt and pepper to taste (I like about 1 t Kosher salt and 5-6 turns of the pepper mill on a fine grind setting).

Serve on toasted slices of good Italian bread and drizzle with a bit more olive oil.

White Bean Bruschetta
1 can cannellini (white) beans, drained and rinsed
olive oil
Kosher salt
black pepper, freshly ground

In a small bowl, gently toss the beans in about 1 T olive oil. Add Kosher salt and pepper to taste (I like about 1 t Kosher salt and 5-6 turns of the pepper mill on a fine grind setting in this topping as well).
Serve on toasted slices of good Italian bread and drizzle with a bit more olive oil.

A few notes:

• The longer these mixtures sit in the fridge, the better they taste!
• I toast my sliced bread on my cast iron griddle. The goal is to get the bread pretty crunchy so it will hold up to the juice from the tomatoes and not collapse when you pick it up. You can do this in a dry skillet, the oven, or even the toaster...whatever is easiest.
• Some people rub the freshly toasted bread with garlic cloves, but I'm a bit of a purist, and since that's not how I remember having it in Italy, that's not how I do it (though it can be a great addition to the dish).

Mangia Bene!

Mangia Bene!

Eat Well!!

I swear my DNA is at least 2/3 Italian, but if you look at me and my family, you'll quickly learn that this is not the case. However, for most of my life, I've been in love with cooking and eating Italian food. This infatuation runs deep enough that 6 years ago, a friend (who is half Italian) and I went to Italy and immersed ourselves in the food, the culture, the language (which I'm terrible at), and the wine...oh the wine! It was a truly remarkable experience - I cried when I first saw the Colosseum, the Leaning Tower is awe-inspring, and the Roman Forum is almost haunting. It was amazing to stand amongst the remains of structures built that long ago and to see Caesar's funeral pyre.

Anyway, I digress...back to the food!! In Italy, the pasta is fresh, the pizza is simple, with toppings that rest happily on a cracker-thin crispy crust, and the flavors are amazing! Italian restaurants here in the states don't even come close! So, when I cook Italian food at home, I do my best to bring the true spirit of Italy into my kitchen. I try to cook with the best ingredients and keep it simple...basically, I let the food do the talking. Here are a few of my favorite, easy-to-make Italian recipes:

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Basic Marinara
(makes 9 pints)
3 T olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
10 oz tomato paste
10 lbs Roma tomatoes, peeled & roughly chopped
fresh herbs (Italian parsley, basil, oregano)

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and saute until soft and translucent.

Stir in tomato paste and tomatoes. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Continue cooking over low heat for at least 8 hours. Add herbs at the end, just before serving.

This sauce is great for canning and freezes well.

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Olive Oil Dough (from ABin5)
2 3/4 c lukewarm water
2 packets, or 1 1/2 T granulated yeast
1 1/2 T Kosher salt
1 T sugar
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
6 1/2 c unbleached all-purpose flour

Mix the yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil with the water in a 5-quart bowl. Using a mixer with a dough hook, add in the flour until completely incorporated.

Transfer the dough to a lidded, but not air-tight container. Let the dough rest at room temperature until it doubles in size (about 2 hours). Store in the refrigerator or use immediately.

Focaccia
Preheat the oven to 425, with an empty broiler tray on the floor of the oven.

Grease a cookie sheet with a bit of olive oil and set aside.

Dust the surface of the olive oil dough with flour and cut off a 1 lb piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball. Flatten it to 1/2- to 3/4-inch-thick round, using minimal flour. Place the round on the prepared cookie sheet.

Top the dough with fresh herbs, sauteed vegetables, or whatever your heart desires. Finish with a light drizzle of olive oil.

Allow the focaccia to rest and rise for 20 minutes.

Place the cookie sheet on the center rack in the oven and pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray. Quickly close the oven door.

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the crust is a golden brown.

Cut into wedges and serve.

Pizza crust
Preheat the oven to 550, with a pizza stone one the center rack of the oven.

Dust the surface of the olive oil dough with flour and cut off a 1 lb piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball. Flatten it to 1/8-inch-thick round, using a rolling pin if necessary and using flour to keep the dough from sticking.

Transfer the dough to a corn-meal covered pizza peel.

Top the dough with the toppings of your choice.

Turn on your kitchen exhaust fan now (the cornmeal from the pizza peel will smoke at this temperature.)

Slide the pizza directly onto the pizza stone. Check for doneness in 8-10 minutes, and turn the pizza if it is cooking unevenly. It may need up to 5 more minutes in the oven.

Allow to cool slightly before cutting and serving.

Mangia Bene!