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Tomato Bruschetta

Written and Photographed by Danielle Oteri

Let’s clear one thing up before we go any further. Bruschetta is pronounced like this: Broos-ketta. You say it with a hard C.

I know it’s very Seinfeldian of me to be peevish over such a thing, but it drives me crazy!–especially when I hear waiters at really nice Italian restaurants saying brooshetta. No and no.

If you want to pronounce it like Furio from The Sopranos, that is, like a goon with a heavy Naples accent, then you say broosh-ketta.

But it’s still a hard C no matter how you slice it.

Tomatoes are finally, gloriously in season. After last year’s tomato blight, I’ve been awaiting their return like I used to wait for the Sears Wish Book as a child.

They’re just starting to trickle into my CSA vegetable share with a couple of juicy beefsteaks this week and a dozen or so red and orange cherry tomatoes.

Over the weekend, I stopped by the ever reliable Manhattan Fruit and Vegetable Exchange at Chelsea Market where I purchased the first of the big Jersey tomatoes bearing their fiery, orange-red skin.

I also had a few plum tomatoes hanging around at home, so I decided to combine my entire bounty into one meal of tomato bruschetta.

I chopped them into small pieces, adorned them with just sea salt, olive oil, a clove of garlic, and some torn basil leaves from the plant on my window sill.

Finally, I spooned the colorful mixture on to slices of bread that had been toasted in a frying pan with a touch of olive oil.

Aren’t my tomato bruschetta pretty?

And yes, they do match the curtains.

A few notes for your own tomato bruschetta pleasure: Don’t store them in the fridge! Anything below 50 degrees ruins the flavor.

When ripe, they’ll be slightly soft, have a uniform color and most importantly, smell like a tomato.

If they need more time, you can put them in a brown paper bag and let them ripen on your counter top. Ideally, they should be stored in a cool, though not cold place.

Oh, and one final Italian lesson. Tomato, in Italian, is pomodoro, which translates to “golden apple.” Enjoy!

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15 Comments

  1. I love broosketta, although I always seem to pronounce it wrong. This is the perfect time to make a big supply; I’ve been buying fabulous tomatoes from a nearby farmstand, and really enjoying their wonderful flavor.

  2. Thanks for the inspiration. I made some some bruschetta (with a hard ch) last night and it was summer perfection. I grill the bread slices with a little olive oil then rub a cut clove of garlic onto them.
    I’m glad you mentioned not refrigerating tomatoes – drives me crazy when I see people doing that!

  3. Hand up as a person who’s terrible on the pronunciation front (hey, I come from a country where fillet is said exactly how it looks — wince).

    Regardless, love this summery offering.

    Do I get bonus points for knowing what pomodoro tranlates as?

  4. This post made me so happy; something new to do with tomatoes! I’m drowning in tomatoes and my family has finally gotten tired of Caprese salad, though it is a favorite. Thank you!

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