Breezy bruschetta

Freshly made bruschetta, eaten outside on a warm summer's day is pretty hard to beat. Try to use the freshest ingredients you can find here to help the flavours shine through.

It doesn't matter what food you choose. Credit: Chris Middleton

• serves

  2

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 3 large ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp sherry vinegar
• pinch of sugar
• 1 ciabatta, thickly sliced
• olive oil, for brushing and drizzling
• ¼ red onion, finely chopped
• ½ avocado, finely diced
• 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley leaves
• small handful kalamata olives, finely chopped
• small handful capers, rinsed and finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• a few basil leaves, to serve

Instructions

Combine the tomato, sherry vinegar and sugar in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and set aside for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.

Brush the ciabatta slices with olive oil and toast in a griddle pan over high heat for 5–10 minutes until char marks appear. Alternatively, you can toast the ciabatta slices, but the flavour will not be the same.

Add the remaining ingredients except the basil leaves to the tomato mixture and stir well to combine. Pile the mixture onto each ciabatta slice and top with a few basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.

This recipe is from In Bread (Smith Street Books). Photography by Chris Middleton.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.