Summer is not over yet!  I love when I’m told to make anything I like. Here is a recipe for a bruschetta variation using what’s in season. I wanted a combination of sweet and tangy and peaches seemed so appropriate for this bruschetta. So simple to make and I know it was liked as it disappeared fast. No long story here, I did it for a grand re-opening of the Longo’s at Rutherford and Weston Road. As always, enjoy!

For the topping:
1 medium firm tomato, seeds removed and diced
1 firm sweet ripe peach (heck, make it 1 and 1/2 and eat the other half)
1/2 sweet onion
1/2 jalapeno, finely diced (remove the seeds and veins if you must)
1 large Bocconcini ball, finely diced – marinated in a couple of tablespoons of Balsamic vinegar after dicing
Fresh basil leaves for the topping and for garnish on top of the bruschetta
Olive Oil, salt and pepper (sugar if the peaches or tomatoes are not sweet enough)

For the base:
1 baguette – place in the freezer for 30 minutes, slice thinly or thickly as you like it, I made mine thin
3 cloves of chopped garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Mix all the topping ingredients except for the Bocconcini – taste, season and taste again
For the baguette, combine the garlic and olive oil, microwave for 30 seconds or so to infuse the garlic with the oil
Line a tray with parchment paper, arrange the baguette slices, paint each slice with the garlic/olive oil mixture
Bake in a 350F oven for 10 – 12 minutes, remove from the oven and cool
Top the cooled slices with the tomato/peach mixture ensuring you get some juices with each scoop
Place a little Bocconcini/balsamic pieces on top of the mix
Tear the basil leaves in pieces and place on top of the Bocconcini
Arrange on a platter, drizzle with the balsamic glaze in a zigzag pattern making sure every piece is covered
Serve and get ready to accept praise and glory as taste buds tingle with delight – I think someone said it best when they said – every taste bud in her mouth was awakened – sweet, hot and tangy! (Okay it wasn’t hot – for me, but that’s relative and removing it from the quote would diminish the compliment!)

Peach and Tomato Bruschetta2