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At the request of one of my readers I am doing a Batali vs. Oliver showdown today.  I chose bruschetta to be today’s face-off, in all fairness, this face-off may be revisited during the summer when tomatoes are at their peak.  I choose the bruschetta today because I thought it might make an interesting munchy for Super Bowl parties.  The two recipes were: Batali’s Bruschetta Con Pomodori vs. Jamie Oliver’s Squashed Cherry Tomato and Smashed Olive Bruscetta (I am aware of the spelling difference, but I am using the recipe’s actual titles.  From here on out I will use the bruschetta spelling.)  I paired each recipe down and in fairness to the chefs I used the same kind of tomato.  I choose plum tomatoes, as I find they have the most flavor where I live during this time of year.  Other than those slight modifications the recipes were done exactly as they state. 

I have to say both of these dishes were excellent and would be a great choice for bruschetta depending what mood you were in.  Batali’s bruschetta is the classic one that every American thinks of, tomatoes, basil, garlic and grilled bread.  Oliver’s bruschetta is a slight variation on the same theme, the olives and cheese add a twist.  I have to say that in this case I would choose Batali’s bruschetta.  The tomatoes and basil are a nice delicate balance to the crusty bread.  I loved the little bit of spice that Batali added with the cayenne pepper.  There was also a little heat in Oliver’s bruschetta from a dried chili, I really liked it both ways.  I would highly recommend leaving the heat in either recipe, if you make them.  Like I said I enjoyed both versions, but there was something about the utter simplicity of Batali’s bruschetta that could not be beaten.  I loved how this bruschetta was really about the delicate balance of basil and tomato, this is not to say that I would not make Oliver’s bruschetta again, but more often than not I would choose Batali’s version. 

Bruschetta Face-Off Winner: MARIO BATALI