American Elderberry Bruschetta

Perhaps you are lucky enough to have an abundance of homegrown tomatoes this time of year! Maybe even homegrown basil, garlic and onions. One of the tastiest things to make with them is a fresh and crisp bruschetta. You're missing out if you haven't tried to incorporate American elderberry into it!

Bruschetta is typically a mix of fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic and basil served with olive oil and a vinegar reduction. Mostly bruschetta is served on toasted garlic Italian bread. I've seen it served where the vinegar reduction is mixed in and I have seen it drizzled on top before each bite. I've heard it said and spelled different ways. Who knows what the correct way is actually. Today, I am going to share with you a few different ways to make my own style of elderberry bruschetta, where the elderberry is in the balsamic vinegar reduction.

First, let me start by saying that I do not care for basil. I used to LOVE basil, these days however, I could do without. I never experimented with bruschetta because I was discouraged by the added basil, it wasn't until I got my first bottle of Fair Share Farms Raw Elderberry Balsamic Vinegar that I knew I wanted to create something equal in quality to the vinegar. That's when I gave my first elderberry bruschetta a try. If you are not a basil fan, don't be discouraged by bruschetta, it can be made without. I recommend trying thyme, rosemary and/or dill in it, or just extra garlic!

Today I am going to show you how to make an elderberry bruschetta with Fair Share Farm's Raw American Elderberry Vinegar which we carry in our shop. As well, if you have a balsamic vinegar you are particularly fond of, I will also show you how to make it using our Premium American Elderberry Juice.

Fair Share Farms is based in Central Missouri, and they have led the way on research and production of true, elderberry vinegars. They have used our River Hills Harvest American elderberries and elderflowers to create these delicious and delectable products. You might be asking what makes a vinegar a 'true' vinegar? Simply put, first the berries and/or flowers are fermented into a wine, the wine is then made into a vinegar. Many vinegars are simply infused with a flavoring; these vinegars are actually derived from the elderflowers and elderberries. Pretty cool, huh?

In addition to their line of vinegars, Fair Share Farms is dedicated to restorative agriculture and offers a number of other fermented products. They are experts in the field, in more ways than one. 😍

Fair Share Farms elder vinegars are:

• Raw

• Live-Culture

• Small Batch

• Made in Missouri

• Made with our Midwest Grown Elderberries!

Click below to learn more and pick up some of their Raw American Elderberry Vinegar.

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Need to stock up on our Premium American Elderberry Juice?

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Elderberry Bruschetta Recipe

Made with Fair Share Farms Elderberry Vinegar OR River Hills Harvest American Elderberry Juice

It should be noted that your preference on sweetness and thickness are big factors in this recipe. If you are new here, you should know that all recipes I put out into the world are very versatile. I encourage you to play with portions and different mixes until you find your favorite one. Personally, I prefer to add little to no sweetener and don't mind a liquid consistency. Although, others prefer a more syrup texture and/or a very sweet end product. I have made this recipe with a balsamic reduction, and it was great, I have also simply mixed a bit of honey into the vinegar and did not make a reduction at all, it was equally as tasty! The vinegar is sold in 5oz bottles, reducing this by 1/3 to 1/2 is an appropriate amount for the recipe below. If you want to reduce your vinegar by less, it will go farther than the amounts listed below.

You'll Need:

• 2 Cups Chopped Tomatoes

• 1/4-1/2 Cup Chopped Onion

• 1/4 Cup Chopped Green Onions

• At Least 2 Chopped Cloves of Garlic

• 1/8-1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Basil Leaves

• 1/8-1/4 Cup Olive Oil

• 1 Bottle of Fair Share Farms Elderberry Vinegar (5 Fluid Ounces)

• 1/4 Cup of Honey OR 1/4 Cup of Sugar (or less)

• Freshly toasted and sliced Italian bread or crostini's, you could make it garlic bread also.

To Make The Vinegar Reduction:

• If you are using sugar and not honey: heat vinegar and sugar in a pan until it boils, then lower to a simmer and reduce 1/3 to 1/2. While stirring, you'll notice when the vinegar mixture starts to thicken as to how much it is sticking to your spoon. This process of reducing may take 15-20 minutes.

• If you are using honey: reduce your vinegar like above, let cool and once cool stir in honey until it's properly mixed.

To Make The Mix:

• Mix your chopped tomatoes, onion, green onions, garlic and basil with the olive oil, a pinch of salt and let chill.

To Assemble:

• Toast your bread or crostini's and serve warm when ready.

• You can choose to serve this where the balsamic reduction is stirred into the tomato mix, or you can keep them separate and drizzle the balsamic reduction over the mix once it's on the toast.

• Either way, I recommend allowing guests to create their own as needed because once you add the tomato mix and balsamic vinegar to the toast, it can get soggy very quickly.

• Once your warm toasts are topped with the tomato mix and balsamic reduction, you are ready to chow down and enjoy!

To Make a Balsamic Reduction with River Hills Harvest Elderberry Juice

For this type of reduction, you will use the same recipe as above but instead of the Fair Share Farms Elderberry Vinegar, you will provide a half cup to a whole cup of your own favorite balsamic vinegar. Once your reduction has been cooked down and cooled, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of our American Elderberry Juice.

We don't recommend cooking the elderberry juice because it will lose some of the nutrients in the process. But keep in mind that stirring in 1-2 tablespoons at the end will make your balsamic reduction less thick. So, you may want to reduce down further, with it in mind that you'll be adding the juice later.

Our American Elderberry Juice is made using a low heat process. We can do this because we are using American elderberries (Sambucus canadensis), which don't require boiling or cooking before eating. They can be eaten raw actually. Most recipes we provide avoid cooking the elderberries too much, if at all. We want to maintain as many nutrients as possible. To learn more about why the low heat process is important and how our Elderberry Juice can be good for your health, click below to hop over to our Health page.

HEALTH

Have freshly harvested elderberries?

Since we are right in the middle of elderberry harvest season, here is another variation you may appreciate after a hard day's work. Make your balsamic reduction with only your favorite balsamic vinegar and sweetener. Add freshly harvested and destemmed elderberries to your tomato mix. If you were going with the recipe above, I wouldn't put more than about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of fresh elderberries in there.

Other Uses for Elderberry Balsamic Vinegar Reduction

Try your elderberry balsamic reduction as a glaze on grilled white meat. Try it on top of veggies, in particular, roasted brussels sprouts! Mix it with a little olive oil and use it as a salad dressing. It's particularly good with goat cheese, cream cheese and/or mozzarella. Try a Caprese salad with the reduction, or a pizza in a similar style with the reduction drizzled over the top at the end. It's great with grilled fruit served with ice cream or Greek yogurt too.

My favorite so far: add a layer of cream cheese and then cooked salmon before you top the toast with your bruschetta mix and balsamic reduction. It's amazing! Get creative with your cream cheese and try adding wasabi, which goes great with the salmon. Or add capers to the cream cheese for more of a zing.

Discover More American Elderberry Recipes

If you'd like to learn more about infusing your own vinegar with Freeze-Dried American Elderberries, we have a great post with recipes for that too. You can do this with not only balsamic vinegar, but elderberry is awesome with apple cider vinegar too. The applications for apple cider vinegar provide endless possibilities. Give our blog post with those recipes a read by clicking the button below.

RECIPE

Visit our Blog page for more recipes or visit our online store to pick up some River Hills Harvest products today.

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I hope you get to enjoy this recipe, and you fall in love with Fair Share Farm's Raw Elderberry Vinegar!

Until next time, cheers to your health!

Heather

I am Heather Wilson, of the River Hills Harvest crew. By being part of the company, I am blessed to have access to American elderberries in all forms. I enjoy experimenting with new ways to incorporate them into my diet, as well as other natural plants, berries and more. I have a background in greenhouse management as well as floral design and am involved in the art community as an artist, when time allows. I enjoy playing guitar and writing songs. I also enjoy wandering in nature with no real purpose, because a purpose always presents itself. It’s a busy life, but one that I love and feel lucky to be a part of.