Bruschetta and the Basic Art of Italian Cooking
by Maria Liberati, http://www.marilaiberati.com
Description: Easy Italian bruschetta recipes that are great for summer entertaining.
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Bruschetta is a food that originated in central Italy. In
Tuscany, bruschetta is called fettunta, which literally means
‘oiled slices’.
In the USA, we tend to think of Bruschetta mainly as grilled
slices of Italian bread with fresh tomatoes, basil, olive oil,
garlic.
In Italy it is one of the easiest and quickest dishes to prepare
for a casual dinner or evening with family or friends. There are
many variations with a variety of ingredients that complement
each other.
Its main advantage is that the ingredients used to make
Bruschetta don’t require long periods of time for cooking or
preparation. If you follow the classic recipes for Bruschetta
all you need is an oven for toasting the bread and mainly great
authentic Italian bread (should be crusty on the outside and
soft inside), garlic, and extra virgin cold pressed olive oil.
Like all great Italian recipes, each type of bruschetta is made
with a small amount of ingredients and each ingredient is
important to the taste of the finished product. So each
ingredient used must be the best quality--extra virgin cold
pressed olive oil, fresh mozzarella, authentic cheese, fresh
vegetables, fresh cheeses, good quality meats or fish.
A Bruschetta party is a great summertime idea. You can put
together a simple quick yet fun and delicious party by arranging
the following ingredients on a table and letting the guests
choose their choice of toppings:
- 1 bottle of extra olive oil with pourer top for drizzling
- Fresh mozzarella cut into small cubes
- Chopped hazelnuts and walnuts
- Pignoli nuts
- Chopped olives--green and black
- Steamed, peeled, cleaned shrimp
- Grilled vegetables--eggplant, peppers, onions
- Tomatoes, cut into small cubes (should be fresh and ripe plum
tomatoes)
- Celery leaves, chopped
- Basil leaves, chopped
- Anchovies canned in olive oil
- Arugula
- Provolone cheese cut into cubes
- Thinly sliced prosciutto
- Pesto sauce
Every region of Italy has its favorite Bruschetta recipes and it
is more common in the central and Southern parts of Italy. Here
are some of my favorite Bruschetta recipes. Serve as an appetizer
or for a quick light dinner for two or four. For two make half
of each recipe and share. For four make the full recipe and serve
in four.
Bruschetta Con Limone
(Bruschetta with lemon)
1 fresh lemon, squeezed
1 lb of crusty Italian bread, sliced into 1/2” slices
Handful of fresh parsley finely chopped
1/2 lb of smoked salmon, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup of whipped cottage cheese or cream cheese
Olive oil for drizzling
Place bread slices on grill or in oven under broiler till golden
and crispy. Drizzle with just about 1 tsp of olive oil on each
slice. Remove, while still hot, and spread on whipped cottage
cheese. Place chopped salmon and chopped parsley on top of
cheese. Drizzle about 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice on top and
serve.
This recipe serves 4 and each serving is about 200 calories.
Bruschetta Con Filetto
(Bruschetta with filet)
1 fresh carrot
1/4 lb fresh mushrooms
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small golden onion
1 lb of crusty Italian bread
1/4 lb of potatoes
1 celery stalk
1/4 cup ripe cherry tomatoes
1 cup dry white wine
1 lb of filet of flounder
Wash all vegetables and cut into small cubes. In a large frying
pan, place in olive oil and half of the onion chopped. When oil
just starts to bubble, add in flounder cut into small pieces.
Let flounder cook for about 3 minutes. Then add in the tomatoes
(cut into cubes) and the other vegetables. Pour white wine over
all, let wine evaporate. Stir gently, every so often. Let cook
for another minute or until golden. When finished remove from
heat.
Grill bread sliced into 1/4" to 1/2" thick slices. When bread is
golden and crusty take out of oven, top with flounder mixture and
serve.
This recipe serves 4 and is about 150 calories for each serving.
Buona Bruschetta!!!!
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