Harvest Bruschetta

Recently St. Cloud Diocesan Pastoral Center and Chancery employees were treated to a luncheon celebrating the end of the garden season.

It was Steve Gessell’s idea. He and his wife, Wendy, prepared this delicious bruschetta with tomatoes and basil from the Pastoral Center garden, which he grows to share with diocesan employees and also to donate to Place of Hope, an outreach ministry for the homeless in St. Cloud, Minnesota. CJK

Harvest Bruschetta

(Steve and Wendy Gessell)

3 lbs. plum tomatoes

2/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

2 tbsp. chopped garlic

1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp. olive oil

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

12 thick slices of crusty bread

Olive oil, for brushing on bread

2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese or finely shredded Italian-style cheese

Chop the tomatoes with a knife or food processor and then spin in a salad spinner to remove most of the moisture.

Mix tomatoes with basil, garlic, vinegar and oil. Season with salt and pepper. The mixture may be prepared for up to two hours ahead of serving. Hold at room temperature.

Toast bread slices, cool and brush with olive oil. Spoon tomato mixture onto toasted bread and top with a sprinkling of with cheese.

Yield: 12 servings

A note from Steve: I’ve found that plum tomatoes often have more flavor than “Romas” — “Juliet” is one of my favorite varieties.

While some cooks prefer making bruschetta with plain French or herb bread, Wendy and I have found a Garlic Parmesan French bread that we like to use. If we make it for just the two of us, we toast the slices in our toaster; otherwise, we follow the directions on the recipe and toast the bread in the oven at 375°F for seven to nine minutes.

A note from Carol: The maintenance worker for properties of the St. Cloud Diocese, Steve formerly worked (for 10 seasons) as the rose gardener at the Clemens Rose Garden in St. Cloud.

He spent 16 years developing the “Honeybelle Honeysuckle Vine” (Lonicera x brownii ‘Bailelle’), which was introduced to the market in 2009. It’s beautiful — the waterfall of deep golden trumpet-like blossoms are striking against the background of green round foliage. Winter-hardy to zone three, it continues to flourish into autumn until the hard frosts of October.

In addition to the “employee garden” we appreciate so much, Steve keeps the grounds of the Pastoral Center, Bishop Kinney’s residence and the priests’ retirement home blooming with lovely flowers and succulent raspberries. It’s no surprise that the Gessell’s yard is filled with flora of all kinds — flowers, vegetables, grapes, berries — and some fauna, too — chickens, bunnies and Swiss Toggenburg goats. He can be found at the farmers’ market in St. Cloud on Saturdays from spring through fall selling produce and plants.

Steve and Wendy and their teenage children, Amanda and Adam, are members of St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud.