Bruschetta Salsa

I love Bruschetta. We used to make it in the restaurant for some of the private parties. I didn't think I could can it tho since it really does need fresh garden tomatoes not that cardboard stuff from the stores. I looked around and theres mostly one recipe out there and it has way too much vinegar for my tastes. To me it should have very little or none at all, maybe just a drizzle of balsamic.

And so I looked around online and in my books and found this version. I liked that it didn't have much vinegar , just a touch and some lemon juice. That acid is needed for water bath canning so I knew doing this , it had to have some.

I had some plum tomatoes growing in my garden this yr. Im still working on getting it to produce. I dont live in an area where they grow well but I managed to get some. They are however very small and other than tossing in a salad I wasn't sure what to do with them. Then I saw this recipe. I also got a great deal on some heirlooms at the farmers market this week...$1 lb. Heirlooms in the stores around here are almost $4lb. So I grabbed quite a few to use in this too.

I also got two nice big bunches of fresh basil. I had some nice garlic from another vendor there I bought the week before too. And so I decided to try this. I did taste it as it cooked a bit. It was very good. I did add the tomato paste cuz the tomatoes threw alot of juice. I drained some of that juice and added a TB. more of tomato paste to the recipe. But I didn't add the green onions. I like a more garlic flavor in my bruschetta and since it already had shallots which I dont normally put in, I decided adding green onions would be overkill.

It looks nice in the jar and I hope it tastes fresh still. I figure I can mix some bits of chopped mozzarella to it and stir in some olive oil when I serve it on nice crusty garlic bread. I slice baguettes, brush them with a nice virgin olive oil and toast or grill them. Then I rub fresh garlic on them. Top with the bruschetta........YUM!

 (Looks separated right out of the canner, but as it cools its blending nicely.)
(I found this in The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving) 
BRUSCHETTA SALSA Makes 3 pts.

    3 cups Roma tomatoes; peeled and diced
    2 large cloves garlic; minced
    2 shallots; minced
    1 cup fresh basil; chopped
    1 tbsp red wine vinegar
    1 tsp lemon juice
    1/2 tsp pickling salt
    1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
    2 green onions; minced
    3 tbsp tomato paste

Prepare for water bath canning.
Blanch tomatoes to remove skins.  Remove seeds and dice.

In a large stainless steel saucepan combine tomatoes, garlic, shallots, basil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Add green onion and tomato paste stirring until ingredients are well combined.   Return to a boil. Remove from heat and ladle hot salsa into hot sterilized jars leaving a 1/2in.  head space.  Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, place lids and screw bands on adjusting so they are just  finger-tip tight.  Process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes. When the time is up turn off the heat and remove lid, wait 5 minutes before removing the jars.  Check seals, label, and store.

Sweet basil cheesecake

I posted this because several people have asked me for some other uses for basil . Some are growing lemon basil or cinnamon basil and these would be delicious in this too. If you use lemon basil how about topping this with lemon curd or a lemon sauce. I bet the cinnamon basil one would be lucious with a chocolate cinnamon sauce.


SWEET BASIL CHEESECAKE Serves 10
2 Lbs Cream Cheese, room temperature
1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Sour Cream
2 Large Eggs, lightly beaten
1 Cup French Fine-leaf Basil, destemmed
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice (optional)
1 Tsp Vanilla
2 Tbsp Cornstarch
1 Cup Crushed Vanilla Wafers, or graham crackers
2 Tbsp Butter

Preheat oven to 450* F. In a food processor or mixer, lightly beat the eggs. Add sour cream, sugar, basil, cornstarch, lemon juice, and vanilla. Process until smooth. Add cream cheese, 1/2 lb at a time, and process to incorporate. Spread softened butter on the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 9-or 19 inch springform pan. Cover butter area with cookie crumbs, pressing to be sure they stick.

Pour in cheesecake batter and bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Knife the edges of the cake as soon as it is removed from the oven. Cool on wire rack about 5 minutes, then remove the side of the pan. Finish cooling, if you can wait. Cut with dental floss into thin wedges.