Sometimes you just need the great boost of lycopene that a tomato-intense dish like bruschetta can provide. These aren’t just tomatoes on their own, but buoyed up by toasted parmesan bread, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and basil. It’s a great way to appreciate the extra tomatoes that creep up at the end of summer!

This recipe takes its inspiration from this one, which is great when you have a party to feed. Mine makes half the amount to serve two people, and we still had more than enough.

3-4 Roma tomatoes, diced (~12 oz.)
3 tbsp. basil leaves, chopped into ribbons
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil
1 half-sized baguette
2 tbsp. shredded parmesan cheese
Pinch sea salt
Pinch black pepper
Optional: balsamic glaze for serving

Drain any excess juice from the diced tomatoes and transfer to a medium-sized bowl. Add the chopped basil, 2/3 of the minced garlic, 1 tbsp. of the olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper, then stir to combine.

Set aside to let it marinate for 30 minutes. Mix the rest of the olive oil with the rest of the garlic oil and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400F with the rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Slice the baguette into diagonal, half-inch-thick pieces and place on the baking sheet. Brush the surface of each slice with the garlic-infused olive oil (a silicone brush will work give a more even distribution than a bristle brush for this), then add the parmesan.

Bake for 5 minutes, then switch the oven to broil on high heat for 1-2 minutes until the edges of the toast slices are brown.

Arrange the toast slices separately from the bruschetta mix so people can prepare their own on demand (no one wants soggy toast). Drizzle the mixture with balsamic glaze if you have it, and a little extra olive oil as desired.