Making proper bruschetta

Bruschetta with toppings of tomato, olive and artichoke heart and shrimp, mint and orange zest. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

WAIKAPU, Maui — Victor "Vittorio" Pelligrino gets excited about bruschetta. So excited that he wrote a whole cookbook about it.

"Simply Bruschetta" is a self-published collection of ideas and recipes for "garlic toast the Italian way" featuring more than five dozen styles of toppings to place atop garlicky toasts to serve as an appetizer or even dinner.

The simple Italian preparation of crisp toasted or grilled bread, rubbed with a clove of raw garlic, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, goes back to Roman times when bread was soaked in olive oil. Fetunata is the Tuscan term for "oiled toast." It might be the forerunner of today’s garlic bread.

Pelligrino’s goal is that everyone learn to make proper bruschetta — pronounced brus-KE-tta — especially at restaurants.

"You have to start with good quality bread," said Pelligrino, a retired English professor who taught at Maui Community College for 28 years. He slices the bread about 1/2 to fl inch thick and toasts it in a toaster oven until nicely browned.

"Then you rub a clove of garlic around the crust and across the slice," Pelligrino instructs. "Do it while it’s hot."

As the aroma of garlic ascends from the slice of warm toasted bread, Pelligrino brushes extra virgin olive oil over the slice. "You can drizzle it on if you prefer; always use extra virgin olive oil for the best possible taste."

Then Pelligrino sprinkles coarse salt over the bread. "This is the basic bruschetta: bruschetta con aglio, toast with garlic. You can eat it just like this."

But with his immense collection of topping recipes, Pelligrino rarely eats bruschetta just like that. A favorite is a mixture of tomatoes, artichoke hearts and kalamata olives; another favorite is leafy greens sauteed with a soffrito of garlic and onions.

"My grandfather used to make a meal of bread with gorgonzola cheese and onion, so I made up a topping with the same ingredients," said Pelligrino. "I guess you call this invention."

Even when he’s sleeping, Pelligrino is dreaming of toppings for bruschetta: Shrimp with Orange Balsamic Vinaigrette is a recipe that came to him one night in a dream.

Almost all the recipes in the book are vegetable-based, Pelligrino elaborated. "People put cooked or leftover foods on top of toasted bread. Maybe it’s not exactly the way Italians would do it in Italy, but I like to create my own toppings."

For Pelligrino, cooking is an avocation. "I started cooking when I was young," he said. "My mother had a beauty shop in our home, so I had to fend for myself. I worked in restaurants from my early to late teen years."

He has since taught classes at MCC on pasta making and, of course, bruschetta. "I’m not a trained chef. Through reading and cooking, I cook from scratch; it’s a passion."

Pelligrino usually prepares a traditional Italian meal on Christmas Eve, consisting of many courses featuring seafood. "Stuffed calamari, fish, fried smelt, bacalao (salt cod) with a red sauce are part of the menu; Italians traditionally wouldn’t eat meat the night before Christmas." He also likes to prepare multicourse Chinese dinners in celebration of the lunar new year.

While he hasn’t tried this yet on his friends, Pelligrino suggested that a bruschetta bar might be a fun party theme.

"You could have guests helping out: toasting the bread, rubbing the garlic, drizzling the oil and salt," said Pelligrino fantasizing. "Then they could help themselves to toppings already prepared."

Not a bad idea. Here are some of Pelligrino’s recipes to get you started.

Bruschetta Con Aglio (toast with garlic)

• 8 (1/2-inch) thick slices of Italian bread, 2-3 days old
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt

Toast, broil or grill slices of bread on both sides. While slices are hot, rub with a clove of garlic over the entire surface, including the crust. Drizzle with olive oil or apply with a pastry brush. Sprinkle with sea salt. Serve as is or top with other ingredients.

Shrimp With Orange Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 24 fresh shrimp
• 16 mint leaves

Vinaigrette:

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons fresh orange juice, reserve remaining juice from orange
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 8 mint leaves, minced

Combine ingredients for vinaigrette and whisk together. Refrigerate overnight.

Shell and devein shrimp. Bring a quart of water to a boil; add remaining orange juice. Reduce to low heat and cook shrimp for three minutes. Remove, drain and stop the cooking in ice water. Drain well and slice each shrimp in half lengthwise.

Bring vinaigrette to room temperature. Arrange six pieces of shrimp on pieces of bread that have been toasted, rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil. Drizzle vinaigrette onto each slice and garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Artichoke, Olive and Tomato

• 1 (61/2 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts
• 6 kalamata olives, pitted
• 6 cerignola (green) olives, pitted
• 4 roma plum tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Black peppercorns

Drain liquid from artichoke hearts and dice. Chop olives fine. Quarter tomatoes and quarter again. Combine all ingredients and toss lightly. Spoon mixture over slices of bread that have been toasted, rubbed with garlic, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. Serve immediately.

Some other topping ideas:

• Spread gorgonzola cheese and top with finely chopped red onion and freshly ground black pepper.
• Spread toasted slices with prepared pesto
• Saute Italian sausages with onions and peppers and spoon onto toasted slices.

For more ideas consult "Simply Bruschetta" by Vittorio Pellegrino (Maui arThoughts Co., $18.95), available at Borders bookstores statewide.

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