balsamic glaze and extra fresh basilfor serving (optional)
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place baguette slices on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with olive oil, flip, and brush the backs as well (using more olive oil than indicated as needed). Bake at 425 degrees F for 7-9 minutes, until golden brown.
Immediately after taking them out of the oven, rub the top of each slice of bread with the cut side of the half clove of garlic. You can use tongs to hold the bread slices if they are too hot to hold. You don't need to be too aggressive about this - just gently rub it to infuse the garlic flavor. Sprinkle with kosher salt or sea salt flakes. SAVE the garlic clove piece for the bruschetta!
Meanwhile, while the crostini is baking, make the strawberry bruschetta. In a medium sized bowl, add the extra-virgin olive oil (2 tablespoons), the balsamic vinegar (1 tablespoon), kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon), and a few turns fresh cracked pepper. Use a microplane zester to grate the 1/2 garlic clove into the mix. Whisk together to emulsify into a thick, cohesive dressing.
Add the chopped strawberries (2 cups), chopped tomatoes (1 1/2 cups), and chopped fresh basil (1/4 cup) to the bowl. Stir to mix together.
Optional: For best results, allow flavors to marry by refrigerating the bruschetta for 2 hours, or at a minimum 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve by spooning the bruschetta mixture on top of the crostini pieces, with a little extra liquid from the bottom of the bowl. If you like, you can drizzle some balsamic glaze on top and garnish with extra fresh basil.
Notes
Refrigeration time will help marry all the flavors together and result in a better bruschetta, as well as mellow out the raw garlic flavor. It's recommended, but not required.
This strawberry bruschetta will stay good for 2-3 days in an airtight container in the fridge. The crostini will become quite stale so they are best eaten the day of baking.
You can serve the bruschetta on other things besides crostini, such as grilled chicken, on a salad, on crackers, or as a salsa for tortilla chips.
If you're sensitive to raw garlic, it can be omitted. If you love raw garlic, feel free to add more, but be careful as it can overpower the other flavors quickly.