Two of January’s simplest yet most enjoyable pleasures are olive oil and bread. Many local olive oil producers are releasing their 2020 vintage, and others are still processing their harvest. Because olive oil is never better than when it’s first pressed, it is a delight to enjoy now.
When it comes to bread, it’s widely known that the Bay Area, including Sonoma County, is blessed with some of the finest bread bakeries in the country. We are bread-rich, and it is one of the perfect vehicles for enjoying ultra-premium olive oil. The simplest way to do this is to hold a piece of hearth bread, rubbed with garlic or not, under the spout as the world’s newest olive oil pours into a container.
This is known in Tuscany as fettunta, and it is delicious.
Take it a couple of steps beyond this, with olive oil that has been bottled, plus another ingredient or two, and it is bruschetta. Grilled bread topped with garlicky chopped tomatoes is the most familiar version, but it is far from the only option. There are both seasonal and year-around versions that don’t involve tomatoes. Tomatoes are ideal from mid-summer through fall, but when our local season is over, it is best to move on to other ingredients instead of using out-of-season tomatoes that have traveled a distance.
When it comes to grilling the bread, don’t worry about how to do it. You can toast it over hot coals or in a wood-burning oven, of course, but you also can use a stove-top grill, a toaster oven, a conventional oven or even a conventional toaster. The bread you use matters more than the technique; it should be sturdy hearth bread, with a good crust and big holes.
Most bruschetta, especially in restaurants, is offered as an appetizer or first course, but it doesn’t have to be, especially these days. All you need to do to make dinner out of bruschetta is to add a green salad alongside. You can enjoy it for breakfast, as well.
In the end, bruschetta is simply a close cousin of toast.
Use this recipe as a template for any and all bruschetta. In the last couple of weeks, I have been using Acme Bread Pain au Levain, which is now available at Pacific Market in Sebastopol. Yes, we have fabulous bread here, and I enjoy all of it. But it is a treat now and then to enjoy Steve Sulllivan’s Acme Bread, which launched our current hearth bread movement.
Basic Bruschetta
Makes 4 to 6 servings
1 loaf of hearth bread of choice
4 large cloves garlic, cut in half lengthwise but not peeled
Toppings of choice, see variations below
Best-quality ultra-premium extra virgin olive oil
Flake salt
Black pepper in a mill
Prepare a fire, if you plan to grill the bread or toast it in a wood-burning oven. Otherwise, just use the method you prefer to toast the bread; you want it golden brown, not too dark but not too light, either.
Cut the bread into medium-thick slices (⅜ to ½ inch thick), and grill it or toast it until it’s golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a clean work surface and rub each piece with a cut clove of garlic, pressing the clove into the bread as you rub.
Add whatever topping you like before drizzling with olive oil and adding salt and pepper.
Year-around variations:
- Top each piece of bread with a very generous soup spoon full of crème fraiche, setting it on the bread and distributing it in one gesture, without rubbing it into the bread. Season with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Put a dozen of so anchovies (in oil) into a small bowl, cover with red wine vinegar and set aside while you prepare the bread. When the bread is toasted, set 2 or 3 thin slices of mozzarella fresca on each piece and top with an anchovy fillet or two, along with a few turns of black pepper.
- Top each piece of bruschetta with a quick, generous smear of tapenade, before adding the olive oil.
- Cut firm-ripe avocados into thin diagonal slices. After rubbing the bread with garlic, cover with avocado slices, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare the bread as directed in the main recipe, then cover each piece with thin slices of caciacavallo or smoked mozzarella. Set on a sheet pan in the oven until the cheese is just melted, about 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with a little dried oregano and a bit of red wine vinegar and enjoy.
- Toss 8 ounces or so of Oregon baby shrimp with a small minced shallot, the zest of a lemon, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and a generous squeeze of lemon juice. Add some snipped chives or chopped Italian parsley, season with salt and pepper and spoon onto the toasted or grilled bread. Top with a tiny, thin lemon wedge.
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Bread and olive oil a match made in winter heaven - Santa Rosa Press Democrat
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