Oven-Roasted Tomato and Ricotta Toasts
Roasting tomatoes with lots of olive oil and aromatics concentrates their sweetness, making them perfect for sandwiches, salads, or as a topping for toasted bread slathered in good ricotta cheese.
Oven-Roasted Tomato and Ricotta Toasts
Photo Credit : Lori Pedrick | Styling by Liz NeilyRoasting tomatoes with lots of olive oil and aromatics concentrates their sweetness, yielding silky flavor bombs with myriad applications. Toss them into pasta, pile them onto a sandwich, stir them into a grain salad, or use them as a topping for toasted bread slathered in good ricotta cheese.
From “The Jewels of Summer,” July/August 2019
Yield:
about 20 toastsFor the toasts (crostini)
Ingredients
1 baguette, sliced on the bias into 1⁄3-inch-thick slices
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 clove garlic, peeled
Instructions
First, make the crostini: Preheat oven to 350°. Brush each bread slice with olive oil on both sides, season with salt and pepper, and arrange on a baking sheet. Bake until crisp but not brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and rub the garlic over each toast once. Let cool. (Note: Crostini are best the same day they’re made.)
For the topping
Ingredients
1 pound small tomatoes, cored and halved, or cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and slivered
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 sprigs fresh thyme, plus more for garnish
1 cup whole-milk ricotta
½ teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
Next, make the topping: Increase oven temperature to 375°. Put the tomatoes in a baking dish, cut side down, and drizzle with olive oil. Tuck garlic in between the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add thyme sprigs. Bake until tomatoes are soft and slumped, about 30 minutes (for cherry tomatoes, begin checking after 15 minutes; they won’t take as long). Remove from oven and let cool; if you want, pluck off the skins. Note: The tomatoes can sit at room temperature for a few hours or cooled, covered, and refrigerated for up to three days (let them come to room temperature before using).
In a small bowl, stir together the ricotta and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon some ricotta onto each crostini, top with some tomatoes and their juices, and garnish with thyme.
