Bruschetta al pomodoro — the real Italian bruschetta
Serves 4 (8 bruschette) · Prep 10 min · Cook 5 min
Bruschetta is an olive oil's final exam. Grilled bread, a clove of garlic, ripe tomatoes, and — this is the whole test — a thread of oil poured raw, with nothing to correct it. A mediocre oil gives itself away at the first bite; a great oil, though, tips the dish into the unforgettable. To taste a bruschetta is, in the end, to taste the oil.
Our Madre Terra extra virgin olive oil is made for exactly that exam: cold-pressed on the hills of Puglia, poured raw over the still-warm bread, it releases its green notes and peppery catch. Use enough to recognise it from the spoon — it's the oil you've come to read here.
Ingredients
- 8 slices of good country bread
- 4 ripe tomatoes
- 1-2 garlic cloves
- Madre Terra extra virgin olive oil, generously
- A few fresh basil leaves
- Flaky sea salt
Method
- Dice the tomatoes, salt lightly, and let them drain for a few minutes in a sieve — you don't want soggy bread.
- Grill the bread — in the oven, under the grill, or in a pan — until golden and crisp.
- While still warm, rub each slice with a halved garlic clove. The bread grates the garlic: that's enough, and it's half the flavour.
- Spread the drained tomatoes over the bread and add a few basil leaves.
- To finish: pour a generous thread of raw Madre Terra olive oil over each, a pinch of flaky salt, and serve at once.
The oil test: here the oil isn't a seasoning, it's the ingredient. Pour it without counting and taste before you serve: what you feel on the tongue — the green, the pepper, the clean bitterness — is exactly what the bottle is worth.
All in one box: it's the same oil as on our Spaghetti al pomodoro — a bottle that transforms simple things. You'll find it in the Prima Tavola box, built to start the table with the good things.
Discover the Prima Tavola boxFrequently asked
Which tomatoes?
Ripe summer tomatoes at room temperature — they are the whole dish. Out of season, skip bland tomatoes: spread the grilled bread with our Madre Terra sun-dried tomato spread, an equally real winter version.
Do you really need to grill the bread?
Yes. The crunch and the garlic rubbed on warm bread make half the dish — soft bread will never give you a real bruschetta.
Which olive oil?
An extra virgin you'd want to taste off the spoon. Bruschetta doesn't forgive a mediocre oil — all the more reason to make it your tasting.
