Home Grown Tomato Bruschetta

The other day, we bought french bread to have with a meal, but we didn't end up eating it. A few days later it was getting stale, but I didn't want to waste it. So, I thought, "bruschetta!" because we had just picked a bunch of tomatoes (quadruple of what is pictured below). Plus, we had all of the other ingredients!

Finished Product!

I was already grilling chicken for dinner, so I decided to grill the slices of bread instead of baking it. The bruschetta came out wonderfully! If you don't want to grill it, you can broil it for 3-4 minutes on each side. Follow the rest of the steps as shown. 

      

Left: Tomatoes from our garden || Right: Tomato mixture 

Continue scrolling for some awesomeness!

Home Grown Tomato Bruschetta

Ingredients

• 1 loaf day old or fresh French bread, sliced on the diagonal (I got 17 slices minus the heels)
• 2.5 cups diced tomatoes (6 medium or 4 large tomatoes)
• 2-3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried or 1/2 tablespoon fresh basil (I used dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1-2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar, to taste (I used 1 teaspoon)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup and 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 mozzarella cheese sticks, cut in half and pulled into pieces OR 17 slices of block mozzarella
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions

1. Dice the tomatoes, mince the garlic, and chop the parsley and basil into small pieces. Put all of these in a bowl.
2. To the same bowl add the balsamic vinegar, oregano, 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, and red pepper flakes (if you are using them). Whisk together until combined. 
3. Now, test the tomato mixture. Does it need more salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, basil, etc? If so, add more to your taste.
4. Turn your grill on medium-low. 
5. Next, slice the bread diagonally and set on a cookie sheet. Put 1/4 cup of olive oil into a small bowl and brush the oil onto each slice. Only do one side for now.
6. Cut the mozzarella sticks in half and pull it apart into strips; if you have a block of mozzarella, cut slices of cheese to fit the slices of bread.
7. Once your grill is at about 200° take your bread outside and place the slices oil side down. Now brush the rest of the oil on the side that is now facing up.
8. Grill the slices for about 5-7 minutes on each side with grill top closed or until golden brown. Once the bottom side is done, flip over the slices and add the mozzarella to the top. Close the grill and let the cheese melt for another 5-7 minutes.
9. Once the bread is done and cheese is melty, put them back on the cookie sheet and bring them inside. Spoon about a 1/2 tablespoon of the tomato mixture on top of the melted mozzarella.
10. Serve immediately and enjoy!

***Serving size depends on the size of the bread you use and how thick/thin you slice it. I got 17 slices from my bread (not including the ends of the bread), but if I had sliced it thinner I could have gotten more. There should be enough of the tomato mixture if you end up having more slices of bread than I did. However, you will need to slice some more cheese.

I would love to know if you try out this recipe, so please let me know in the comments or on Google+.

Thank you for stopping by!

XOXO Shelly