It's approaching that time of year in Italy when the first press of olives is celebrated, the fresh green oil turning bread into bruschetta which will be shared in homes and served by wine bars and restaurants.
I speak for many I think, when I say how romantic it sounds, the stories of those first, drippy bites eagerly sampled at the olive mill literally minutes after bottling or by a campfire in the Tuscan woods with the looming threat of attracting wild boar.
So, what's the fuss? It's just garlicky bread and olive oil.
Therein lies the beauty of Italian cuisine which you've heard before; keep it simple with the best ingredients available.
The correct pronunciation is brew-sket-ta though here most people phonetically call it brew-shet-ta. It is a glorious antipasto dependent on four quality ingredients. A slice of rustic, grilled Italian bread is rubbed with the pulp side of a sliced garlic clove. This takes just a few light strokes. The warm, crispy bread is then drizzled with fruity olive oil and sprinkled with salt.
Bruschetta is not topped with tomatoes and basil unless desired and then it becomes bruschetta with tomatoes, also delicious but quite different from the original.
So, when was the last time you shared a platter of bruschetta?
photos; florence, italy
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