Bruschetta

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Bruschetta
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Bruschetta topped with a tomato salad, caramelized balsamic vinegar, and Grana Padano
Origin
Place of origin Italy
Details
Course served Antipasto
Serving temperature Cold dish
Main ingredient(s) Bread, garlic, olive oil, topping (tomato, vegetables, beans, cured meat, or cheese)
Other information Eggplant, olives
File:Bruschetta 02 schinken.jpg
Bruschetta with olive oil and prosciutto

Bruschetta (Italian pronunciation: [bruˈsketta]) is an antipasto (starter dish) from Italy consisting of grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with olive oil and salt. Variations may include toppings of tomato, vegetables, beans, cured meat, or cheese, a popular dish is Bruschetta pomodoro; the most popular recipe outside Italy involves basil, fresh tomato, garlic and onion or mozzarella. Bruschetta is usually served as a snack or appetizer. In some countries, a topping of chopped tomato, olive oil and herbs is marketed under the bruschetta name.[1]

In Italy, bruschetta is often prepared using a brustolina grill. In the Abruzzo region of Italy a variation of bruschetta made with a salame called ventricina is served. Raw pork products and spices encased in pig bladder are aged and the paste spread on open slices of bread which are sometimes grilled.[2] This was a way of salvaging bread that was going stale.[3] In Tuscany it is called fettunta and it is usually served without toppings, especially in November, to taste the very first oil of the season.[4]

Pronunciation and usage

In Italian, bruschetta is pronounced [bruˈsketta]. In English-speaking countries, it is pronounced either /brˈskɛtə/, which more closely resembles the Standard Italian pronunciation, or /brˈʃɛtə/,[5] which is closer to certain Southern Italian pronunciations. In the United States, where grocery stores sell jars of "bruschetta" (usually a tomato-based condiment), the word is used erroneously to refer to the topping instead of the bread.[6]

The noun bruschetta comes from the Roman dialect verb bruscare, meaning 'to roast over coals'.[7] According to Marcella Hazan, the dish probably originated in ancient Rome, when olive growers bringing their olives to the local olive press would toast slices of bread to sample their fresh-pressed oil.[6]

See also

Notes and references

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  3. The Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink, John Mariani. Broadway Books. New York, 1998 p. 45
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External links