Four years ago I published my most clickbaity-titled blog post to date: Trader Joe’s Mind Blowing 3-Ingredient Lentil Salad.
I had tasted the salad at an end-of-school-year gathering and was immediately smitten. After a little digging, I learned that the woman, Gail, who had brought the salad to the party was married to the manager of the Albany Trader Joe’s.
And when Gail told me the recipe — combine one tub of Trader Joe’s bruschetta sauce, one box of Trader Joe’s cooked lentils, and one tub of Trader Joe’s crumbled feta — I drove straight to Trader Joe’s to stock up on ALL the tubs.
After I made the salad and discovered the joys of throwing together three ready-to-go products and calling dinner’s side dish done, I posted the recipe here , which prompted a number of questions from people without access to a Trader Joe’s. Cooking lentils from scratch and finding feta were relatively easy tasks, but what were they to do about the bruschetta sauce?
Stay tuned , I said.
Well, four years later, here it is: a recipe for homemade bruschetta sauce. Its makeup is nearly identical to Trader Joe’s, a combination of finely diced tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, garlic, sea salt, and basil, and it tastes fresh and bright with a nice acidic bite.
As it sits, the juices seep from the tomatoes and mix with the vinegar, producing what can only be described as tomato vinegar, the taste of summer, of long lazy nights at the dinner table, candles dripping, crickets chirping, the last of the bread, piece by piece, slowly disappearing through saucy dregs and dressings.
As a final quality control test, I mixed the homemade bruschetta sauce with from-scratch cooked lentils and my favorite feta, closed my eyes, and took a bite. The result, my friends, can I say it? Mind blowing. I hope you’ll agree.
Homemade Bruschetta Sauce, Step by Step
The ingredients in Trader Joe’s sauce include: tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, basil, canola oil, sea salt, garlic, sugar, and black pepper. For the homemade version, you will need all of those with the exception of sugar, pepper, and canola oil.
Step 1: Finely dice tomatoes such as Roma or hot house cluster tomatoes, which I am using here.
Transfer the tomatoes and their juices to a large bowl.
Add olive oil, vinegar, salt, garlic, and basil.
Toss to combine, taste, and adjust seasonings as needed.
This recipe will yield 3 cups of bruschetta sauce, enough for 2 batches of Trader Joe’s 3-ingredient lentil salad.
Here’s the side-by-side comparison. Trader Joe’s version (on the left), as you can see, is slightly thicker. My sense is that TJ’s might use a bit more olive oil than I am using in this recipe. It’s also possible that over time, the tomatoes break down, thickening the sauce.
To make Trader Joe’s lentil salad entirely from scratch, boil 1/2 cup dried black or French green lentils in plenty of water with a teaspoon of kosher salt until cooked.
Since discovering this recipe for black lentils with labneh (or Greek yogurt) and spinach , I cook black lentils more than French green for their quick cooking time and firm texture. They consistently cook in about 25 minutes. French green lentils typically take a little bit longer. For this recipe, you’ll boil 1/2 cup of dried lentils with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.
Drain them. You’ll have about 1.5 cups of cooked lentils.
Place them in a large bowl with 1.5 cups of the homemade bruschetta sauce and 1/2 cup of crumbled feta. Stir to combine. Taste and season with more sea salt to taste if necessary.
Store in the fridge. This salad is so nice to have on hand for quick lunches and simple dinner sides.
Description
If you have longed to make Trader Joe’s 3-ingredient lentil salad but have never been able to due to access to Trader Joe’s or the availability of their product, you’re in luck: here’s a from-scratch bruschetta sauce recipe.
- 1.5 lbs. tomatoes, such as Roma or hot house cluster or beefsteak
- 1 – 2 teaspoons flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, or a smaller amount of kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons minced basil
- Finely chop the tomatoes and place them along with all of their juices in a large bowl. Season with 1 teaspoon sea salt (or 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt). Add the garlic, olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, and basil. Stir to combine.
- Taste. Add more salt by the half teaspoon until it tastes properly seasoned. I consistently use 2 teaspoons of flaky Maldon sea salt for this recipe. Adjust with more olive oil if it tastes too sharp, and add more vinegar if you want more acidity. If you want a stronger basil flavor, add more. Note: Trader Joe’s version, as far as I can tell, is a bit more oily, so do add more olive oil if you like that richer flavor. This version, too, may seem a bit juicy or liquidy, and you may be tempted to strain out some of the juices. You can do so if you wish, but I find those juices to be so nice — so tasty! — especially when the sauce is being used to dress lentils or other grains.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stir
- Cuisine: American, Italian
Description
If you have longed to make Trader Joe’s 3-ingredient lentil salad but have never been able to due to access to Trader Joe’s or the availability of their product, you’re in luck: here’s a from-scratch bruschetta sauce recipe.
- 1.5 lbs. tomatoes, such as Roma or hot house cluster or beefsteak
- 1 – 2 teaspoons flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, or a smaller amount of kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons minced basil
- Finely chop the tomatoes and place them along with all of their juices in a large bowl. Season with 1 teaspoon sea salt (or 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt). Add the garlic, olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, and basil. Stir to combine.
- Taste. Add more salt by the half teaspoon until it tastes properly seasoned. I consistently use 2 teaspoons of flaky Maldon sea salt for this recipe. Adjust with more olive oil if it tastes too sharp, and add more vinegar if you want more acidity. If you want a stronger basil flavor, add more. Note: Trader Joe’s version, as far as I can tell, is a bit more oily, so do add more olive oil if you like that richer flavor. This version, too, may seem a bit juicy or liquidy, and you may be tempted to strain out some of the juices. You can do so if you wish, but I find those juices to be so nice — so tasty! — especially when the sauce is being used to dress lentils or other grains.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stir
- Cuisine: American, Italian
Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2022/07/01/homemade-bruschetta-sauce-trader-joes-copycat-recipe/
Ali Slagle, a recipe developer, food stylist, and frequent contributor to The New York Times , has a new book out, I Dream of Dinner (so you don’t have to) . It’s filled with 150 low-effort, high-reward recipes, all of which call for fewer than 8 ingredients and come together in less than 45 minutes.
I have made three recipes from the book: good sauce from so-so tomatoes, skillet broccoli spaghetti , and crispy potato, cheese, and egg tacos, the recipe featured in this post, the one I think captures the spirit of the book best of all: it takes all of ten minutes to make, and it might be the most delicious thing you eat all year.
Truly, I am astounded by this little recipe and the beautiful way Ali writes it. First, before the cooking begins, Ali instructs: “Read and rehearse what’s happening next. It comes together quickly.”
It’s true. In short, you spread grated potato into a skillet in a very thin layer. Ali notes: “You want the strands touching but not clumped, like a snowflake.” Then you top the potato with a thin layer of grated cheese and an egg and cook it covered for about 3 minutes. When the egg is cooked, you slide it all onto a warmed tortilla. Ali suggests eating “with hot sauce and lime wedges or whatever toppings you like (keeping in mind that the yolk is a built-in sauce)”.
Friends, I do not know how to eat these tacos slowly — they disappear from my plate about as quickly as they emerge from the skillet. There is something magical about the combination of the crispy potato and cheese frico-like crust — “so crisp,” Ali notes, “you could even skip the tortilla” — with the runny egg and warm tortilla. The tacos don’t need anything more than fresh lime and hot sauce, but I have been dotting them with garlic scape pesto, a gift from a friend, and I love the bite it adds.
This is a weekend of cookouts and cobblers, but if you have time to slip these tacos into your cooking agenda, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
PS: Thank you Amanda for pointing me to this wonderful recipe in the book 🎉
Ali Slagle’s I Dream of Dinner
Crispy Potato, Egg & Cheese Taco, Step by Step
Gather your ingredients. You need a small potato here as you’ll only need 1/2 cup total of grated potato.
Separate the grated potato into two lightly packed 1/4 cup portions.
In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil or butter, then add the grated potato in two thin piles. Season with salt.
Sprinkle two tablespoons of grated cheese over each pile of potatoes. I’ve been using Asiago.
Make an indent in the center of each cheese pile, then drop an egg into each center.
Season with salt and pepper.
Cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
Uncover then …
… slide each potato-cheese-egg pile onto your warm tortillas.
Finish with hot sauce and fresh lime, if you wish.
A friend gave me a little tub of homemade garlic scape pesto, which I have been loving with these tacos.
See that crispy potato-frico layer?
It’s heavenly.
Description
From Ali Slagle’s new book: I Dream of Dinner
Notes:
You only need 1/2 cup of grated potato, so if you are shopping, look for small potatoes. Even a 3-oz potato will give you more potato than you need for this recipe.
The key to success here is to not use more than 1/4 cup of lightly packed grated potato per taco — it will be tempting to use more. Try to refrain.
I’m using these red hatch chile tortillas from The Fresh Chile Company , which one of you — thanks, Larry! — introduced me to.
The green sauce you see in the photos is a garlic scape pesto my friend Courtney gave me.
2 corn or flour tortillas
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
1/2 cup grated Russet potato, see notes above
1/4 cup grated Cheddar or Asiago or cheese of choice
2 eggs
kosher salt and pepper to taste
hot sauce
lime
- Warm the tortillas however you wish: in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat or directly over the flame or in your toaster or toaster oven. Transfer to a plate.
Read and rehearse what’s happening next. It comes together quickly:
- Heat the olive oil or butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium. Sprinkle the potato into two piles in the pan, then use a spatula or fork to spread out each pile to about the size of your tortilla. You want the strands touching but not clumped, like a snowflake. The more space between the potato, the crispier the final result.
- Salt the potato, then evenly sprinkle the cheese over the potato. It’s OK if some cheese comes into contact with the pan—it’ll taste like the crispy edges of a grilled cheese.
- Make an indent in the center of each pile and crack an egg right in there. Salt and pepper the eggs, then cover the skillet and cook until the cheese and potatoes are golden and the egg white is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Use a spatula to wiggle the potato and cheese loose from the skillet, then slide them onto your tortillas. Eat with hot sauce and lime wedges or whatever toppings you like (keeping in mind that the yolk is the built-in sauce).
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American, Mexican
