Bruschetta with Checca

from Chow Bella

Bruschetta with Checca

5-6 tomatoes (I like roma or the tomatoes that still have the vine attached)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt and coarsely-ground black pepper

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

8 oz fresh mozzarella (cut into cubes if using a whole piece, or use mozzarella pearls)

6 cloves garlic

1 large baguette

1. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes and finely dice them. Add them to a medium bowl along with the olive oil, 4 minced cloves of garlic, salt and pepper. Toss the mixture and let is sit in the refrigerator at least and hour before serving, and allow it to come to room temperature before serving.

2. Right before serving, cut the bread into 1/2-3/4" slices. To prepare the bruschetta, you can use a broiler, an outdoor grill, a grill pan, or justbake them in the oven. To broil: heat your broiler and place the bread on a sheet pan. Place the pan on the top rack of your oven and toast for 2 minutes on each side or until they become browned on the edges. To grill: heat your grill or grill pan until warm and then toast the sides of each piece of bread for about 2 minutes or until grill marks show. To bake: arrange the bread on a sheet pan and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the bread for about 10 minutes, or until they become browned on the edges.

3. Once the bread is done, immediately rub each piece with one of the halved garlic cloves.

4. Toss the tomatoes with the basil and mozzarella. Top each piece of bread with the checca.

• Servings per recipe: 14

• Calories: 160

• Fat: 5.8 g

• Saturated fat: 2.5 g

• Cholesterol: 9 mg

• Sodium: 273 mg

• Carbohydrates: 19.1 g

• Fiber: 1.4 g

• Sugar: 2.2 g

• Protein: 8.1 g