Homemade Bruschetta Topping

This is not the traditional Tuscan bruschetta, but the tomato-topped version Americans tend to be more familiar with. To spice this up, add in a few hot pepper flakes. Serve the tomato topping mounded in the center of a plate with cheese-topped or plain toasts arranged around it if you're serving buffet-style.

1 Baguette, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
6 Fresh plum tomatoes
2 cloves Garlic, smashed and minced as finely as possible
3 Green onions, sliced
2 teaspoons Dried Basil or 2 Tablespoons Fresh Basil
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Basil Infused Olive Oil
Generous amount freshly ground Pepper and Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 450. Brush both sides of each baguette slice with olive oil. Toast bread until bottoms are light brown. Turn over and continue toasting. Remove from oven when done, and cool. You can also use purchased toasts, crackers, pita chips or bagel chips!

While bread toasts, cut up the tomatoes into a fine dice. Remove the gloppy inside from them and discard. (This is called "seeding.") Put the tomatoes in a bowl with the onions, garlic, salt, dried basil and pepper. Stir to combine. Drizzle with a couple of tablespoons of the olive oil you used on the bread. Allow to sit for about an hour before serving. Add a pinch of ground hot peppers for a kick!

Note: this is also a great raw pasta sauce! Toss with linguine and top with slices of herb marinated chicken breast, steak or shrimp.