tomato bruschetta

[billyhill]

Friend is coming to dinner tonight and all he wants for his birthday is the tomato bruschetta. Should I wait to the last minute to prep or can the tomatoes be done 6 hours ahead to marinate in the salt and basil? There are Brandywines, Roma, and San Marzanos available from the garden, I assume they should be cored and seeded before use.

The plan is salt, pepper, and basil mixed in a bowl to be asembled by the guest with olive oil available (or should the oil be included with the toms?)

Any advice would be appreciated.

[weinoo]

Coring and seeding them is nice. I see no reason why they can't be salted ahead and then drained (will add to their depth of flavor) before adding the basil and olive oil.

[billyhill]

Thank you for your response. Texture and how the basil would hold up were my biggest concern doing it too early. Any other insights would be welcome.

[weinoo]

Usually, when basil is cut way ahead of time, it turns black and is not that pretty - that's why I like to hold off on using the fresh herb until just before service.

Texture of the tomatoes should remain nice and meaty -even more so with some of their juices being drawn off by the salting process.

[heidih]

Are you planning to refrigerate the mixture and then bringing it back to room temp. You definitely want room temp to get the full flavor. How are you toasting the bread? Rubbing with garlic at all or using olive oil in the toasting process and then having it available as a drizzle at service? If your guests are the "hands on" type you may want to let them tear the basil onto their breads as they eat them. Basil's sweet top perfume can be so fleeting. Oh- and what about some dead or over-ripe tomatoes that can be rubbed into the toasted bread? Does your friend already have a favorite prep?

(I think I had too much iced tea already today....)

[Lisa Shock]

I'd make plain tomato concasse and refrigerate. You can always add salt at the last minute, it doesn't seem too incredibly tedious of a chore. This also allows you to accommodate that person who shows up and lets you know right before the meal starts that they are on a low sodium, or pepper-free diet.

IMO, fresh pepper is a lot more fragrant if served immediately. And, yes, the basil needs to be handled at the last minute.

[ElsieD]

If you are going to core and seed the tomatoes, I'd go the extra step and peel them. I peel tomatoes all the time as I don't like the skin. I use a serated vegetable peeler and it works like a charm. Also, a bit of fresh oregano is nice.

[billyhill]

Thank you to everyone that respondeded with all the information. Time was a factor, so I quickly blanched,peeled, cored and seeded the tomatoes. I salted the toms and used an expandable steamer basket in a bowl to keep them elevated above the liquid that was extracted. 1 hour before the guest arrived, I tossed the toms with basil, pepper and adjuste the salt. The texture held up well and the birthday boy seemed happy. It was served on homemade toasted french bread straight out of the oven with sides of crushed red pepper, chives, parm-reg, and some La Crianza olive oil a friend brought back from Chile.

The main course was his favorite spaghetti with homemade sausage, and there was much rejoicing.

Thanks again for all the help,

BH