The Food Processor Gets a Workout Day 4: Bruschetta

Jersey may have a lot of things that give it a bad name (believe me, I know, I'm going to Wildwood this weekend) but tomatoes are not one of them.  There is nothing more delicious than a Jersey grown tomato and I'm so happy to have tons of tomatoes turning red on the vine.  Picking cherry tomatoes right off of your plant and not having to worry about rinsing pesticides off of them before popping them into your mouth is such a nice feeling.  This week, I read an article in the Bergen Record about tomatoes from Florida and I was horrified.  The article is pretty intense, especially when you read about all of the slavery cases on south Floridian tomato farms, but the fact that they gas their tomatoes to turn them red instead of letting them grow on the vine naturally is almost as disgusting as the slavery charges.  I'm sitting at my kitchen table now looking at the tomatoes we bought at the supermarket earlier this week and I have to say I'm happy that they're bruised and misshapen, at least I know they're real. 

But they do not compare to the delicious Jersey tomatoes growing in my backyard.  When I made this bruschetta I didn't have any large red tomatoes on the vine so I used cherry tomatoes instead.  Just like every other recipe this week, I threw the ingredients into the food processor and let it do the rest.  I absolutely love bruschetta served on crispy bread or sprinkled over pizza.  It's a perfect appetizer for a summer party or maybe as a side to your pasta dinner with pesto?  Followed by a dessert of raspberry sorbet?  Oh how I love my food processor!

This bruschetta is very light and, like the salsa, be sure to leave it in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavors meld together.  Serve it on toasted ciabatta bread or my favorite: these little mini toasts from Trader Joe's.  Seriously, how cute are these?

Remember, this is the last day to get your submissions in!  I'll pick my favorite over the weekend to make in my food processor and share with all of you :)


Bruschetta
Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 c basil, packed
- 2 tomatoes, ends cut off and quartered
- 1/3 of a red onion, outer layer peeled and quartered
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

- salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Add garlic and basil to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until minced.  Add tomatoes and red onion and pulse two or three times until diced.  Add the olive oil and the balsamic vinegar through one of the holes on the cover of the food processor and pulse once or twice to combine.  Pour into container and add salt and pepper to taste.  

Tips for using your food processor

- When you have to dice vegetables using your food processor but still have more ingredients to add afterwards, leave the vegetables a size or two bigger than you would prefer.  

Posted by Ali B at 2:05 PM