Garlic Bread and Bruschetta are probably very familiar to you already if you have any interest in Italy and/or Italian cuisine – though most Italians would consider garlic bread a whole different and inauthentic beast to their own cuisine. Simple, easy to make, comforting and incredibly tasty, this family of dishes is a staple of many a diet around the world. The word bruschetta comes from the term “abbrustolito”, which means grilled or oven-roasted. It is a term that originates from central Italy, though it is safe to assume that bruschetta has been made all over Italy for a very long time and has been suggested to even date back to the ancient Romans. Traditional, bruschetta is a simple piece of grilled bread that is rubbed with garlic, drizzled with fresh extra-virgin olive oil, and sprinkled with salt, then a variety of things can top it, such as tomato, basil, Parmesan and capers, among other things.
Fettunta, meanwhile, is a Tuscan variation of the dish, traditionally made simply of just roasted Tuscan saltless bread, drizzled with newly pressed extra virgin olive oil and then, normally, rubbed with a garlic clove and topped with a pinch of salt. Most common when celebrating the first olive oil of the season around November or December, it can, however, be found all throughout the region during the course of the year. Toppings can be added, if you wish, to make bruschetta, though this simpler version is more typical to the region, and it is usually served to accompany dishes that have a nice broth or sauce to mop up.
Why not make it yourself as you plan your trip to Italy? Of course, it will be hard to source the best ingredients, particularly the bread, so a visit to Tuscany really is a must but, as you browse luxury villas near Florence, you can try it out and whet your appetite.
Ingredients:
1 loaf good quality bakery bread
1 or 2 whole garlic cloves, cut in half
Extra virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt
Method:
1. Slice your bread into slices.
2. Grill on each side.
3. While hot, rub each slice on one side with the cut side of a garlic clove.
4. Drizzle olive oil over the slices and sprinkle with a generous amount of sea salt.
5. It's really that easy.
Speaking of easy, be sure to check out more of our articles on Tuscany as the good, easy, slow life there awaits you during your vacation.
Why not make it yourself as you plan your trip to Italy? Of course, it will be hard to source the best ingredients, particularly the bread, so a visit to Tuscany really is a must but, as you browse luxury villas near Florence, you can try it out and whet your appetite.
Ingredients:
1 loaf good quality bakery bread
1 or 2 whole garlic cloves, cut in half
Extra virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt
Method:
1. Slice your bread into slices.
2. Grill on each side.
3. While hot, rub each slice on one side with the cut side of a garlic clove.
4. Drizzle olive oil over the slices and sprinkle with a generous amount of sea salt.
5. It's really that easy.
Speaking of easy, be sure to check out more of our articles on Tuscany as the good, easy, slow life there awaits you during your vacation.
Photo credit: UmbriaLovers / CC BY-SA 2.0
