Quick and Easy Bruschetta

This recipe comes from my friend Wicks (I think it is actually his mother’s), who happens to be living my dream of going to culinary school.  It’s always a crowd pleaser, I certainly loved it the first time I tried it, and I’ve made it for multiple groups of people, who always love it and/or want the recipe.

One of the first fancy (well, fancy for a couple of college kids) dinners my husband and I went on, we went to this great Italian place in Boston’s North End.  He took the iniative and ordered some bruschetta for us.  Mind you, I didn’t really know what it was.  I am not usually a fan of raw tomatoes, and I hadn’t really shared that with him yet, and so he was both horrified and dismayed to hear that I wasn’t really into that bruschetta.  He still doesn’t let me live that one down, although 6 years later I’ve gotten much better and am making leaps and bounds with trying to eat tomatoes raw.

Anyway, on to the food.

1 baguette
2 tomatoes
fresh basil
scallions (green onions)
Italian salad dressing
black olives
thinly sliced mozzarella cheese

Finely chop tomatoes, scallions, basil and black olives.  Add enough salad dressing to cover, and marinate for at least an hour, the longer the better.

Thinly slice the baguette at an angle.  Very lightly toast the bread rounds in the oven, just enough to give them a light crunch.

Top the toasted rounds with the tomato mixture and a very thin slice of mozzarella covering the tomato.  Then broil the bruschetta just until the cheese is melted, and serve immediately.