Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta Caprese

 Classic bruschetta gets a gourmet twist by using sweet heirloom tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella, and drizzled with a decadent balsamic reduction glaze!

Pop quiz… when you go out to eat at an Italian restaurant, what’s your favorite appetizer to order?  My husband and I order bruschetta, just about every time.  We love it!  There’s just something about the simplicity of the ingredients, yet they really “pop” in your mouth.  

Now what’s better than some bruschetta?  Some bruschetta caprese!  All the flavors you know and love in a bruschetta, with the added richness of the creamy fresh mozzarella and deep flavors of the balsamic glaze.  You simply won’t be able to eat just one, I guarantee it!

Of course, if you wanted to, you could skip the mozzarella cheese component, or skip the whole caprese thing all together and just go with the fresh tomato and basil topping.  Seriously, you can’t go wrong!

But you know I just had to go for that balsamic glaze… it’s like balsamic candy!

Now, you guys know I like love am obsessed with garlic.  And you may be looking at these pictures and remembering a bruschetta you had somewhere that had garlic in it, and then wondering why I, of all people, would make a bruschetta recipe with no garlic in it!  Well it’s actually in there… I was just sneaky with it 😉

As much as I love garlic, I don’t really want to bite down on a piece of raw garlic, and also didn’t want to take the time to saute anything.  So here’s what I did… I sliced my baguette and drizzled them with a little olive oil, and broiled them for a few minutes until they were golden brown.  Then I peeled a couple cloves of garlic and sliced off just the top of the peeled clove.  While the bread was still pretty hot from the broiler, I rubbed the cut garlic all over each slice.  The heat sort of melts the garlic and it melts all in the nooks and crannies of the baguette slice.  Now there’s amazing garlic flavor in every bite, but no chunks of raw garlic!

Hint hint… this trick is a great way to make garlic bread too!

Now I don’t know about you guys… but I can make an entire meal out of bruschetta.  It also makes a terrific appetizer, side dish, snack, lunch, etc 🙂

Yeahhhh I kinda want to lick the plate clean….

I’ve made this recipe with just about every type of tomato I can, and my personal favorite is the heirloom tomatoes.  The flavor is just so much more pronounced!  But a very close second, are red and yellow cherry (or grape) tomatoes.  They have more of a “snap” to them, so the tomato flavor really bursts in your mouth.

Normally I’d have a picture of some bruschetta with cherry tomatoes, but my little tomato mongrels, aka my children, ate all of them.  Man, they both LOVE tomatoes!

I served these as a side dish/appetizer to go with my lemon chicken piccata, but it would be awesome with some stuffed Italian flank steak, slow cooker spaghetti bolognese, or have an appetizer night and serve them with some Italian sausage stuffed mushrooms!

This bite is for you!

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Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta Caprese

4.75 from 8 votes

Author: The Chunky Chef

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 3 minutes

Total Time: 8 minutes

(hover over # to adjust)

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A recipe for classic bruschetta gets a gourmet twist by using sweet heirloom tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella, and drizzled with a decadent balsamic reduction glaze!

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 french baguette I used a whole wheat baguette
• ▢ Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
• ▢ 2-3 cloves garlic peeled and just the very top of the cloves sliced off
• ▢ 2 heirloom tomatoes diced
• ▢ leaves Several fresh basil minced
• ▢ Fresh mozzarella cheese cut into small cubes
• ▢ in Balsamic reduction glaze I use the one mentioned this post but you could make your own as well, for drizzling

Instructions

• Turn on broiler to HIGH.
• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper and set aside.
• Chop up tomatoes, basil and mozzarella and set aside.
• Slice baguette either straight across or at an angle for a longer slice of bread. Arrange slices on prepared baking sheet and drizzle lightly with olive oil.
• Broil for a few minutes, until golden brown. Be careful, bread can burn FAST!
• When the bread is toasted, take your peeled garlic cloves and rub it all over the hot bread.
• Top with a mixture of tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella.
• Drizzle on the balsamic glaze and enjoy!

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Chef Tips

** To make your own balsamic glaze: Add 1 cup balsamic vinegar and a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar to a small saucepan. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer over MED-HIGH heat, then lower heat to LOW and simmer for 10-15 minutes. It's finished when the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.

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