If there’s a tasty appetizer that everyone enjoys it’s bruschetta. It’s fresh and has that lovely piece of toasted bread for a base. This cream cheese and tomato bruschetta we have an extra texture from the smoothness of the cheese making it extra interesting. On top we’re also adding son basil and balsamic glaze.
Another thing that’s really important in this recipe is to rub the bread with garlic once it’s toasted. In this way you get a gentle punch of the garlic through the freshness of the tomato.
I did the balsamic glaze myself by simply boiling balsamic vinegar until it looks like liquid honey but nowadays you can find it at the supermarket ready to use. What the boiling does to vinegar is turn all of that acidity to sugar as the liquid evaporates. Be careful not to overdo the boiling or it can burn terribly. Also, if you’re going to make it yourself don’t use a fine balsamic vinegar.
So that’s the complicated part but other than that this bruschetta is pretty straight forward and will be the star of your next gathering.
Ingredients
- 1 baguette
- 1 garlic clove
- 100 g cream cheese
- 4 tomatoes, seedless and chopped
- 12 basil leaves, chopped
- as needed olive oil
- 300 ml balsamic vinegar or 100g balsamic glaze
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Bring the balsamic vinegar to a boil and then reduce the temperature to low. Once the bubbles turn thicker and less easy to control at a low temperature stop the cooking process and cool to room temperature. It should look like honey when cold. Correct with boiling water if too thick. Be careful not to burn it.
- Cut the baguette at an angle to get long pieces of bread.
- Toast them in the oven at 180C with a bit of olive oil until golden (5-8min).
- As soon as they come out rub each toast gently with a peeled garlic clove.
- Mix the tomatoes with the basil, salt and a bit of olive oil.
- Cover the toasts with cream cheese, top with the tomato and finish with a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
