How to make heirloom tomato bruschetta

Heirloom tomato bruschetta is a simple and delicious way to enjoy ripe, summer tomatoes. Mixed with fresh basil, garlic and olive oil, this classic recipe has only a handful of ingredients and is perfect in its simplicity. Try a bruschetta topping without tomato – this apple chutney bruschetta is a favorite.

Bruschetta is one of those things that you can barely classify as a “recipe”. It has clean, simple flavors that make for an incredibly delicious bite.

It is the perfect summer snack. I don’t think I’ve ever met a single person (kids included) who didn’t like it, so it’s a great little nibble to have on a warm summer afternoon.

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Heirloom tomato bruschetta

For obvious reasons, this is best made when tomatoes are in season. When making something with only a few ingredients, it is essential to have them at their peak. 

Garden tomatoes are plentiful right now, so if you have them, use them.

Whether it’s a sprawling garden, or a single pot on a fire-escape, if you grow your own tomatoes, odds are you have quite a few at the end of summer.

Can bruschetta topping be made in advance?

There will be many opinions on this. The short answer is yes – to a point. Some people say that it is ok to make it up to a couple of days in advance.

Here’s my take on this: I worked in fine dining restaurants and a very high-falootin’ catering company for many, many years. Whenever we made this, we never let it sit that long.

Here’s why: tomatoes are watery, herbs are delicate and acid breaks both of these down. The texture of the tomatoes becomes a little mushy and the herbs turn black.

Once the tomatoes start letting go of some of their liquid, it accumulates in the bottom of the bowl and they’re left to sit in it. Not a big deal if it’s for a short time, but over a couple of days, they’ll get soggy.

It’s absolutely fine to make it in the morning and serve it in the evening. So, you can make it a little in advance. A few hours of marinating time is great, but you want the tomatoes be bright and fresh, so keep it to a day or less.

What do I need to make bruschetta?

• Tomatoes – If they are available, get a mixture of different colors. They actually do taste different from regular red tomatoes.
• Garlic – Buy a head of the freshest garlic you can find.
• Olive oil – This olive oil is excellent, if you want to get a special bottle.
• Red wine vinegar – Available everywhere and used liberally to add a bit of zing (optional).
• Italian bread/French baguette – Long thin loaf of bread, get whatever is available to you.
• Fresh basil – You can’t really make tomato bruschetta without it.

To finely slice the basil, this is called “chiffonade“, stack the leaves on top of each other. Then, roll them up like a cigar as tightly as you can.

With a very sharp chef’s knife, slice thinly into ribbons.

It is important that your knife be sharp, otherwise you’ll end up crushing the herbs rather than slicing cleanly through them, causing them to bruise.

What kind of bread do I use for tomato bruschetta?

A nice loaf of Italian bread is the perfect choice for this heirloom tomato bruschetta. A thinner baguette, for crostini, is also perfectly acceptable and what is pictured below.

No matter which you prefer, you need to have a good serrated knife to slice the bread. My favorite bread knife is one I’ve had for almost 20 years. It slices through anything like butter.

There have been many nights when a plate of these beauties and a glass of wine was my dinner. I highly recommend it.

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Originally published 5/21/11, most recent update 8/5/20