Bruschetta- serves 4
Everyone needs to go to Florence.
In fact, everyone needs to go to Italy.
On a recent trip to check out the art, music and food, I travelled to Florence with my aunt.
It was a great trip- magical and historical. For the most part we had “gentle adventures”, except for the scary ticket controller on one of the local busses. We held our ground and even the other passengers supported us. Finally the bus driver kicked Mr. Scary off the bus. Try that in Germany!
If you’re thinking of travelling to Florence any time soon, check out the apartments through Homelidays: http://www.homelidays.com/ Great affordable deals in the heart of town that will give you a more local feel.
We stayed here and I totally recommend it. http://www.casabaldovini.it/ Valentina has an apartment that is big enough for two couples or a family of four. Renovated and pretty, it is a fifteen minute walk into town to get to the world’s best gelato and art.
The terrifying paintings of “The Last Judgment” at the top of the Duomo cupola look eerily like villains from a super hero comic book up close.
Michelangelo’s David really is as amazing as people say it is and at Santa Croce you can visit the tombs and memorials of people who strongly impacted all of Western society- unbelievably all in one place- Florence Nightingale, Machiavelli, Galileo, Leonardo Di Vinci, Michelangelo…
Here is the bruschetta we ate while looking over the river Arno- serves 4
450g/1lb ripe tomatoes, chopped
12 thin slices ciabatta or other crusty bread
2 cloves garlic, peeled
15ml/1Tbsp dried oregano
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped to garnish or mix in with the tomatoes
Heat the grill/broiler and toast the bread lightly on both sides. Rub the bread with the garlic cloves, arrange the tomatoes on the toast, sprinkle with olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper and grill until the tomato is just soft, about 3 minutes. Remove from the grill, sprinkle with chopped basil and serve immediately with a good Chianti.
Buon Appetito!