Bruschetta Salad

Are you tired of the same old boring garden salad you make every day? You can’t opt for any mayonnaise or cream based salad because let’s face it; it’s going to defeat the whole purpose of healthy eating right?

If you want a fresh and crunchy salad that will not only work as a starter but as a substitute for a snack then Bruschetta Salad is what you need to make!

Health benefits

This is one of the healthiest salads you can have and is quite popular in Italy. Each serving contains 150 calories. If you want to make it healthier then you can use low fat mozzarella or feta cheese instead of the regular kind.

Ingredients

baguette (cut into bite-sized pieces)

pounds tomatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces: 1 1/2

pound fresh mozzarella, cut into bite-sized pieces: 1

garlic cloves, minced: 1

extra virgin olive oil: 2 tbsp

balsamic vinegar: 3 tbsp

salt (divided): 3/4 tsp

Freshly ground black pepper: 3/4 tsp

fresh basil (chopped): 3/4 cup

red onion, thinly sliced and cut into bite-sized pieces: 1/2

fresh mozzarella, cut into bite-sized pieces: 1 pound

How To Make Bruschetta Salad

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C
2. Place the baguette pieces in a large salad bowl,
3. Drizzle the olive oil and add ¼ tsp salt and pepper.
4. Toss the baguette pieces to coat them.
5. Spread the baguette pieces on a baking sheet lined on the tray in the oven.
6. Bake the baguette pieces for 15-18 minutes or until you reach a level of your preferred toastiness.
7. After removing them the oven, set aside to cool.
8. In small bowl, combine the remaining salt, balsamic vinegar and garlic. Whisk in the olive oil and set the dressing aside.
9. In the same salad bowl, add the baguette pieces, onion, tomatoes, mozzarella and pour the balsamic dressing and mix well.
10. Let the salad to sit for half an hour before serving.

11. The main star of this salad is the baguette. But if you want to make it leafier and crunchier, you can also add some fresh cold lettuce as well.

Optional:

You can always try different variations to this salad. If you are on a diet and want to make it even more filling then simply add grilled chicken, beef strips or shrimps to the salad and it will become a full meal.

Trivia

1. Da Vinci was the first artist to paint salad in his paintings
2. Caesar Salad is not Italian and has its origins in Mexico when a guy first made it at his brother’s restaurant whose name was Caesar.
3. Lettuce was thought of as an aphrodisiac by the ancient Egyptians which later turned out to be false by the scientific community.
4. There are over thousand varieties of tomato. They range from the smallest cherry tomato to the heaviest 3pound Ponderosa tomato.
5. The practice of eating salads before every meal was introduced by the Ancient Greek philosopher Hippocrates.

There are over 20 million salads served every week in the entire world.