ABOUT THE DISH

The Italian cuisine is filled with dishes which require only the basic local ingredients to make and the flavor these dishes give in return is just mind blowing. Mostly these dishes are served as starters before the main course as these dishes sparks an excitement within the diner for the rest of his night. The use of tomatoes in the Italian cuisine is very common and there are hardly few dishes which take an exception to it. Bruschetta is one of those dishes which hardly need many ingredients to make. It is basically a starter dish which in Italy is called antipasto. It consists of grilled bread on which tomatoes are added along with some basil. These tomatoes are prepared beforehand with some olive oil, salt and pepper. It may look like an sandwich and the flavors oozes out from it when a bite is taken. The juices from the tomatoes adds and great acidic texture to this and it may look like a nothing type of dish but it is one of the most popular dishes in all of Italy. Just like other dishes it has a rich historical background and goes back centuries. It is a total people favorite dish and every restaurant has this dish in their menus. The children at home demand this appetizer everyday and it is one of the healthiest appetizers ever. The bread used in it adds many things to its flavors and has a huge role in making this dish the dish it is today. Other then tomatoes there are many things which can be used in it. Like other vegetables and also you can use any type of protein in it to add more flavor.

ORIGIN AND HISTORY

Like many other dishes in the world the origins of Bruschetta is also not known but there are many things the researchers have taking note of which can indicate its true origins. The researchers claim its origin is either from Lazio or Tuscany. These both are cities in Italy. The reason which the researchers give is that the word Bruschetta comes from the very Bruscare which was used as a primitive dialect in Rome and the regions of Lazio as well. Soon this word was added into the Italian dictionary proving that all of this was true. The meaning of this word is “to toast” referring to the bread which needs to be grilled.

Another thing which relates it to Tuscany and Lazio were the facts that olive oil is an essential ingredient used in it. Olive oil was first used by the Etruscan people who used them for medicine and other stuff. This oil was produced in an area located between Tuscany and Lazio meaning that this dish really has these countries as its expected background and could have originated here. All these just are facts and speculated work which hasn’t been verified yet but something is better than nothing.

This dish is also reported to have been made first during the Ancient Rome. It is said the Ancient Romans used to make oil by smearing the olives and using this oil by rubbing them on bread to test out its flavor. Along with this garlic cloves were rubbed on the oil to maximize its flavor. All this indicates that this dish is from the 15th century and now has made its mark in the whole world.

FUN FACTS

It is said that Bruschetta was originally called “fettunta” and in parts of Florence which is also in Italy it is still called this there.
Bruschetta is also considered to be the daughter of fettunta.
To make it the bread needed to be grilled first and then garlic was rubbed on the bread and then tomatoes were added on it.

VARIATIONS

VENTRICINA : It is a variation of Bruschetta in which the ingredients are the same but sesame is added in the dish wo give it a whole new complexion. This dish was made Abruzzo another region of Italy.