Feb 08 2010
Thank You Julie, Ah!
Despite that the movie has been in theaters and now on DVD for a while, I finally got around to watching Julie and Julia (God bless Netflix). Director Nora Ephron was correct in how she made the food part of the cast. Throughout the movie, the viewer is not only given a glimpse of the lives of Julie Powell and Julia Child, but also treated to a mouthwatering smorgasbord of what appeared to be delicious meals. The amusing part is that while the food was supposed to center around Julia Child’s recipes, it was a bruschetta made by Julie Powell (played by Amy Adams) early in the movie that created quite a buzz over the internet.
Bruschetta dates back to the 15th century in central Italy. Despite what you might see now, the original design simply was of grilled bread that was rubbed with garlic and then topped with oil, salt, and pepper. Variations did arise containing tomatoes, basil, olives, and even meats and cheeses. In the end, it was still served as an appetizer and the basis is of crunchy cooked bread.
The bruschetta served in Julie and Julia became a rage over the internet simply because of the beautiful colors and fresh, chunky ingredients served on top of bread fried in oil. I’ve made bruschetta before and did the usual thing of chopped tomatoes mixed with olive oil and basil, but this bruschetta just wowed me. I’m also sure Chris Messina devouring the dish like a hungry jackal added to the appeal. It was the larger chunks of tomato, bigger leaves of basil and what appeared to be something orange that made this bruschetta stand out.
I searched online and found a myriad of recipes all claiming to be the one shown in Julie and Julia, but image after image, it just didn’t seem to really look like the dish made in the movie. The suggestions handed to me were to seek out a variety of tomatoes to get those colors, but I more remembered how bruschetta isn’t just limited to tomatoes, oil, and basil.
I found my answer in orange peppers. Have a look and decide for yourself.
Recipe: Julie’s Bruschetta
Ingredients
- 1 pint of grape or cherry tomatoes
- 2 orange peppers
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 2 tsp of balsamic vinegar
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 bunch of fresh basil
- 1 loaf of any thick, hearty bread of your choosing
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Slice all the tomatoes and peppers into small chunks about the size of quarters or nickels.
- Heat up 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan on medium.
- When the oil is hot, place the orange peppers into the oil and cook until they soften and are just starting to brown.
- Remove peppers and place tomatoes into the pan to soften them a bit. Do not cook the tomatoes, just heat them a little to soften them up. Remove from pan when finished.
- In a bowl, mix the tomatoes and peppers with 2 tbsp of olive oil and 2 tsp of balsamic vinegar. Add salt and pepper to your taste preference.
- In the empty frying pan, add 2 tbsp of olive oil and heat it up on medium-high.
- When the oil is hot, place a few thick slices of your preferred bread into the oil and cook until the outsides are toasted. Remove from the oil and pat them off with a paper towel if they appear to be too oily.
- Take the clove of garlic and rub it on the now toasted bread. The course cooked sides should act as a small grater and thus scrape some of the essence off.
- Arrange toasted bread on a plate and top with the tomato/pepper mixture.
- Garnish with a few pieces of basil torn from the bunch.
Quick Notes
The idea of cooking the vegetables a little is to soften them down. Bruschetta is generally a nice topping that isn’t full of crunch. We do the peppers separate from the tomatoes simply because peppers require more time.
I use fresh basil for this dish simply because this is not just about flavor, but the visual. You can stir in dried basil instead of fresh, but it looks so much nicer with fresh basil.
Variations
The bread you use is entirely up to you. As you can see in the image, I used a thick wheat, a hearty rye, and even a “corn cake” (similar to a rice cake), only I didn’t toast the corn cake.
You can use your toaster instead if you want to not fry the bread, but it takes so much better with it fried. If you go the toaster route, then at least brush the finished bread with olive oil before you rub the garlic on it. The oil is part of the flavor of bruschetta.
Microformatting by hRecipe.
In my humble opinion, sometimes it’s best not to mess with tradition or to toy with the flavors of such a simplistic Italian dish. Bruschetta is meant to have very clean flavors, and while I have not tried this dish, my only concern is the acidity level of peppers.
To add the color variety and appeal, I would much rather choose an orange or yellow heirloom tomato. This keeps with the flavor values, and is easy on those with digestive issues. If you’re looking for a milder twist, try adding boccaccini. MMMM
From my research, readings, and even seeing the amount of different variations of bruschetta at my office holiday party, I came to the conclusion that almost anything is fair game. I found it interesting even that the usage of tomatoes wasn’t even the original idea.
I do agree on the acidity of the peppers and even tomatoes. I never liked how many Italian dishes I’ve tried where you could taste acidity. It’s why heated up the vegetables in a frying pan over just going all out raw. Everything raw would have had too much crunch and acid in my book.
We’ll have to try and post some of your ideas.
I am reading the posts before mine and I have to laugh and smile because this dish just makes me happy. The photo looks so bright and fresh in the middle of winter. Traditional or not, I think the orange peppers give a splash of color and life that sad, pale, store-bought tomatoes just can’t handle in the middle of winter.
I love the fact that in a season of pitiful local fresh tommys, this bruschetta does its best to liven up color and taste on a dreary day.
[...] unpredictable when it comes to eating…) I’m probably going to use this one, or maybe this [...]
oh my gosh! i made this today! IT WAS SCRUMPTIOUS! thank you thank you! i’ve been wanting to find out what they were eating! and now i finally did! although my bread didnt hold up as well, but it was still delicious!:D
We tried different breads when we did this too. I usually suggest to many to pick up a loaf of fresh bread from a baker or bakery section. Have them slice it. Wheats and ryes hold up very well. I’d probably stay away from pre-packaged sliced bread. Nothing wrong with them, but they are more flimsy in this case, and will even get brittle when fried up like that. I think Julie Powell just used a thick-sliced baguette and kept the centers soft, as you could see her husband easily squeezing and diving into it.
I’m happy you enjoyed it. Thanks for trying it out.
Hi, guys, i casually read this article surfing for totally different purposes.
I’m italian and live in Rome, so i’m a little surprised to see fried oil on the bruschetta (Oh My God, i’d say!!!!).
Here, bruschetta has a basic, popular and fundamental receipt:
the bread is grilled and the oil is not fried, it’s raw and you put it on the bread after it’s grilled. Then you add salt.
Once you have this base you can add sliced tomatoes or everything you think will fit. You can taste a huge variety of bruschettas. But fried oil really IS an heresy.
you are right on the imporatance of bread quality. I like for exaxmple lariano’s bread, but you can make it with every kind, cause grilled bread corrects poor bread flavour.
Hope you’d like to try this receipt
Thank you for your insight David.
I agree with you in the sense of the oil and how the bread is done. If I was doing traditional bruschetta, I’d totally follow your lead. My goal here was to recreate the bruschetta depicted in that one scene in “Julie and Julia”.
In all actuality, I like this bruschetta, but the last time I made it, I toasted the bread in the oven rather than frying it the way I did the first time. I also agree the veggies are supposed to be raw, but cooking them a bit was more to soften them up, as Julie Powell had in hers when I saw the scene.
I will explore other bruschettas in the coming months though. The possible varieties can be endless, as I saw one evening at a catered function. Stay tuned.
[...] made many out on the internet wonder what ratatouille is and how you make it. Reminds me of the bruschetta in Julie and Julia. The dish itself dates further back to the existence of the Occitania region in the land around [...]