This is caprese…
This is bruschetta…
Combine the two for the most delightful party in your mouth during tomato season this year: Caprese Bruschetta!
My kids look at me like I’m a real-life wacko when I shovel this into my mouth. All I do is moan and groan over how amazing it is and if they don’t go crazy for it, I don’t even bribe them to eat it (other than their required curtesy bite, of course). There’ll be more leftover for me and I’m A-ok with that.
1. Balsamic Reduction
You have one piece of make-ahead prep, and it’s the most important ingredient. Trust me. Also, you won’t use all of it for this recipe, so make it now and you can use it for several batches.
- Combine 1 cup of balsamic vinegar and 1/3 cup honey.
- Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.
- Let cool and store in your fridge.
2. Tomatoes, Mozzarella, and Basil
- Tomatoes: Slice cherry tomatoes or dice large ones, pick your poison.
- Real mozzarella ball. Cube it or buy the pearls, they’re both succulent.
- Basil: The only herb worth growing yourself. Please don’t buy basil in those cute little plastic packages at the store as they are just plain expensive. Buy yourself a little starter plant for practically the same price and throw it in a pot on your porch. It’ll produce more basil than you can use and last all summer long. Pluck a handful of leaves and stack them one on top of the other. Now roll the stack as tightly as possible and cut thin little ribbons of deliciousness. Look at you, momma. You just made a chiffonade of basil!
3. Extras
- Olive oil
- Salt and Pepper
- Buy one of those long, skinny loaves of french baguette bread and go ahead a slice the whole darn thing. You won’t think you’ll eat that much, but trust me, you will. Cut on an angle, spread onto a cookie sheet, and coat with a thin layer of cooking spray before throwing them into the oven to toast for 7-10 minutes. You don’t want to skip this toasting part, believe me.
Now throw it all together and top the toasty morsels of bread with the tomato mixture. Spoon a little extra juice atop to soak into the bread. If you’re like me, just add a dash of salt on top before you dive in.
Take a peek at the recipe below, but know that measurements are all relative. Tweak it to your heart’s content!
[ultimate-recipe id=”19509″ template=”default”]
Happy eating!
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