Make Easy 15-Minute Tomato Crostini

Aug 1

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Make this incredibly easy 15-minute Tomato Crostini with your summer crop of tomatoes. Light and satisfying, this appetizer is perfect as a starter or part of a meal. French bread slices are slathered with olive oil and crisped in the oven, rubbed with fresh garlic, topped with shredded parmesan cheese. They go back in the oven to melt, followed by a generous topping of fresh, diced tomatoes. It's the perfect way to enjoy fresh, in-season tomatoes.

First let's tackle the name...is it crostini or bruschetta? Many people use these terms interchangeably. And they do share some similarities. But technically they are different things. My recipe is kind of a blending of the two. Crostini uses smaller slices of bread cut from a baguette, topped with olive oil and salt and grilled or crisped. Bruschette (the plural spelling) are larger, thicker pieces of bread that are brushed with olive oil, rubbed with garlic, and grilled. Both are topping with a savory topping or or some type of spread. Mine is a bit of hybrid, so I am calling it crostini, which is often easier for people to say. Haha! You can call it either name, but you'll definitely be calling it delicioso!

As far as tomatoes go, you can't beat summer tomatoes from your own garden. Any tomatoes will work with this recipe. I have used many different types: grape, cherry, Roma, beefsteak, and even heirloom tomatoes of various colors. The key is to use fresh, ripe tomatoes. I have made this year round with grocery store, hot house tomatoes with great success, too.

I use shredded parmesan cheese for this recipe, but you can also use parmigiano reggiano. Even grated cheese from the green can works well, too. If you have a favorite, use it.

As far as equipment goes, I do have a favorite sheet pan that I think belongs in every kitchen. It's a gift of choice when I am shopping for showers or housewarming gifts. The versatile Nordic Ware Half Sheet Pan is the perfect size and weight for sheet pan meals, cookies, oven baked ribs, and a thousand other things. They don't warp and they clean beautifully. Wash them by hand though or they change color. This set has two half sheets and a 1/8 sheet pan, too.

Tomato Crostini

French bread slices brushed with olive oil and baked, then rubbed with garlic, sprinkled with shredded parmesan, baked again and topped with juicy diced tomatoes. They're the perfect summer treat!

12 French bread slices (about ½ inch thick)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 fresh cloves garlic, peeled
⅓ cup shredded parmesan cheese
fresh tomatoes ((about 3-4 grape tomatoes per slice or 2 large garden tomatoes))
salt, pinch
ground pepper, pinch

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange bread slices on parchment lined baking sheet.
Brush with olive oil.
Bake 8 minutes. Meanwhile prepare tomatoes by quartering grape tomatoes or dicing larger ones. Toss tomatoes and their juices in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Remove crostini from oven once golden brown. Rub a raw garlic clove over the top of each slice.
Mound each slice with shredded parmesan cheese.
Return to oven and bake 2-3 minutes or until bubbly and melted.
Remove from oven and top with tomatoes and juice.
Serve immediately! Enjoy!