Bruschetta is an Italian side dish or appetizer made with fresh tomatoes, basil, and just a few other ingredients. It’s full of the flavors of summer, bright and very savory. Make sure to use Roma tomatoes, as regular tomatoes have too much liquid in them.

I once sat eating Bruschetta on toast at a small sidewalk restaurant across from the Coliseum in Rome. It was not as good as this recipe. But the view made up for it.

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Bruschetta

Tangy yet sweet, with fresh full bodied flavor! This appetizer is best made with homegrown tomatoes, as they have the most flavor. I love to toast my homemade Einkorn sourdough bread, add some butter and let guests spoon the brushetta on top themselves. NOTE: Use plum tomatoes if you can. If using any other tomatoes, drain the extra juice out of them after chopping so you don't end up with a soggy mess!

Servings: 8 people

Ingredients

• 1 lb Tomatoes chopped. See note above.
• 1/3 cup fresh basil chopped
• 2 cloves fresh garlic pressed
• 1 TB balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste
• bread sliced and toasted, brushed with butter

I could eat Caesar Salad every day! People think the recipe is too much work, but it’s really not. You can make a bottle of the dressing and use it over the course of several days. Pre-grate fresh parmesan, keep some croutons in the pantry or fridge, and then it just comes down to washing and tearing up the lettuce. Hey, that can be done in advance too!

When I’m planning this salad with a meal, I put the washed and torn lettuce in a bowl in the morning and place a wet paper towel over the top to keep the lettuce moist. Then I put small bowls of grated parmesan and croutons on top of the paper towel. When it’s dinner time, all I need to do is remove them from the fridge, remove the paper towel and dump in the cheese and croutons. Toss with the dressing just before serving.

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Caesar Salad

A very flavorful traditional recipe! Easy to make and very fresh.

Prep Time30 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: caesar salad

Servings: 4 salads

Ingredients

Caesar Dressing

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/8 cup vinegar, red wine or apple cider
• 1/4 cup lime juice, fresh
• ? anchovy paste (or Vietnamese fish sauce) to taste
• 1 egg yolk stirred
• 1 TB worchestershire sauce

Caesar Salad

• 1 sm head Romain lettuce washed, dried & torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup croutons
• ? ground black pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese finely grated

Instructions

• Mix all dressing ingredients together in a jar and put in the fridge to thicken and flavors meld. Can be made days before.

Salad

• Place lettuce in bottom of a large bowl. This can be covered with a damp paper towel and kept in the refrigerator until serving time.
• Remove dressing from fridge about 15 minutes ahead of time to soften (olive oil gets thick in the fridge).
• Just before serving, remove lettuce from fridge and add parmesan, croutons and ground pepper. Shake dressing well, pour about 1/4 over salad ingredients, and toss.
• Store leftover dressing in the fridge.