Bruschetta

Out of Everything i make i would say that this Brushcetta is probably one of the most frequently requested, and despite being a little tedious, it's also one of the simplest of my go to dishes. It requires no cooking, and very few dishes....just a lot of chopping. I usually serve it with some lightly toasted sliced baguette, and i always make a ton because the longer it sits in the fridge, the better it gets, so it is great leftover.

Shopping List:

Tomatoes! this time i used about 10 medium sized tomatoes, and about two cups of baby Heirlooms




2 balls of Fresh Mozzarella (you want the kind that comes in water, it has a great silky texture and doesn't over power, but NOT buffalo Mozzarella, because even though it's amazingly delicious, you will end up spending about 15 dollars on cheese and it will just fall apart in this dish)



A big ol' bundle of Fresh Basil



4 or 5 Cloves of Garlic
3 Large Shallots



And....
1 Jar Pitted Kalamata Olives
1 Jar Sundried tomatoes in olive oil
Zest of two Lemons
Juice of One Lemon
About 5 Tbs of Olive oil (i also like to use some of the Oil from the Sun Dried tomatoes)
1/4 C Balsamic vinegar (more to taste)
Salt and Fresh ground Pepper

So, I like to start by chopping all of my tomatoes into a colander and letting them drain, unless you take the time to remove all the seeds and liquid from the tomatoes (which is annoying, but i have been known to do it anyway)
Then everything else gets chopped up, the Mozzarella into cubes, the Sundried Tomatoes, Basil, and Olives get a rough chop, and the Garlic, and Shallots a very fine dice.



When everything is sufficiently chopped to pieces, add the lemon zest, Lemon juice, Olive oil and Balsamic, give it a taste, and then go from there with your salt and pepper.



I usually try to let the whole concoction sit in the refrigerator for a couple hours and then transfer it to a different bowl with a slotted spoon. There is typically a lot of liquid that gets released from the tomatoes after you season the mixture, and i like to get rid of some of it.
Typically for serving i slice up a sourdough or french baguette, and brush a little olive oil on the slices and pop them in the oven for a few minutes at 400 degrees. You can dish them up individually, or just serve the whole mixture in a bowl with the toasts on the side and let people go to town.