Olive Tapenade Bruschetta
Grilled bread, a smear of dark tapenade, a tumble of bright tomato — the bruschetta that turns a bowl of olives into the best thing on the table. The two-minute appetiser to know by heart.
Bruschetta is just grilled bread and good oil; tapenade makes it a feast. Salty olive paste under sweet tomato on charred bread is one of those combinations that tastes far more than the sum of its parts.
What you need
Good crusty bread, sliced; a garlic clove; good olive oil; olive tapenade (black, green, or a black-and-green mix); ripe tomatoes, diced; basil; and a little flaky salt.
Method
Grill or toast the bread until charred at the edges. While it’s hot, rub each slice with a cut garlic clove — the rough toast grates the garlic into the surface — and drizzle with oil. Spread a layer of tapenade, then top with the tomatoes, basil, a little more oil and flaky salt. Eat at once.
Two small things lift it from “toast with stuff” to proper bruschetta. Rub the raw garlic onto the bread while it’s still hot and rough from the grill — that’s where the unmistakable bruschetta flavour comes from, not from garlic in the topping. And dress and salt the tomatoes in a separate bowl first, letting them sit a few minutes to release their juices, then spoon them on — so the bread crisps under the tapenade and only meets the juicy tomato at the last second. Assemble just before serving, or the bread goes soggy.