Grilled Beef Bruschetta with Garlic Aioli

I just had a great cabin weekend with family and it was filled with lots of laughs, too much delicious food (if there is such a thing) and cooling summer cocktails. I made a grilled garlic and herb rubbed beef tenderloin as a simple and elegant entree one of the nights and I was lucky enough to have a little left over. I created this dish to make the most of those leftovers, but you could also use roast beef from a deli in place of the grilled tenderloin. I used garden heirloom tomatoes of different colors because it makes such a lovely presentation. The garlic aioli recipe makes a lot so you will have plenty of leftovers to use with crab salad, on sandwiches, or other dish that would benefit from some garlic-y goodness. The best part of this meal was didn’t require heating up the kitchen at all and still managed to be very satisfying.

Grilled Beef Bruschetta with Garlic Aioli
Serves 4
4 slices of good quality sourdough bread
4 ounces of grilled beef tenderloin, sliced thin (or roast beef)
2 tomatoes (ideally heirlooms, of different colors), diced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup chopped basil
1 teaspoon sea salt
Procedure:
1. Mix tomatoes, garlic, oil, vinegar, basil and salt together and set aside.
2. Make aioli (recipe below) and set aside
3. Heat the grill or a grill pan to medium-high. Spread aioli on both sides of the bread and toast both sides.
4. Top with room-temperature beef and spoon tomato mixture on top. Serve immediately.

Garlic Aioli
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 tsp salt
4 egg yolks
2 cups olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Procedure:
1. Smash garlic and mix in salt with the side of a knive, smashing to create a paste. Put paste in food processor.
2. Add yolks and lemon juice to food processor. Pulse to combine.
3. Slowly and in a steady stream, add the olive oil. Puree until it solidifies.
4. Add additional lemon and salt to taste.
5. Refridgerate in tightly sealed container. It lasts about 2 weeks.