Homemade Ricotta and Slow Roasted Tomato Crostini
Easy summertime appetizer. This crostini features homemade ricotta and slow roasted tomatoes served atop toasted baguette slices.
Servings: 6
Calories: 438kcal
Ingredients
Homemade Ricotta:
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice* or lemon juice or distilled white vinegar
Slow Roasted Tomatoes:
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 pint (about 1 pound) mini heirloom tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes
- additional kosher salt for seasoning
Assembly:
- sliced baguette, or bread slices of choice
- extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt
- homemade ricotta (recipe makes 8 oz)
Instructions
Ricotta:
- Pour whole milk, cream, salt and lime juice in a heavy-bottomed stainless steel sauce pot. No need to stir or mix ingredients together.
- Place pot on stove over medium-high heat and wait for mixture to boil.
- Meanwhile, place a strainer lined with cheesecloth over a medium bowl and have a slotted spoon ready.
- Once mixture has come to a boil, remove pot from heat and let it sit undisturbed at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. At this point the mixture should start to coagulate and thicken.
- Use a slotted spoon to scoop up the formed cheese curds. Gently transfer cheese curds to prepared cheesecloth. Do not be tempted to simply pour the mixture into the strainer. You do not want to break up the curds that have formed.
- Once you have scooped up all the curds, tie up the cheesecloth into a pouch. You can adjust the moisture of ricotta to your liking depending on how tight you tie the pouch. Looser tie means wetter ricotta, tighter tie means drier cheese. (I prefer dry) At this point the ricotta will be warm. You can use it immediately or store in the fridge to cool down and firm up. (I prefer the latter)
Tomatoes:
- In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, minced garlic, black pepper, and salt. Let marinade for 15-30 minutes to allow garlic flavors to infuse into olive oil.
- Preheat oven to 325° F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.Arrange tomatoes, cut side up on parchment paper.
- Drizzle prepared garlic-olive oil mixture over tomatoes. Season with additional kosher salt.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes until tomatoes begin to shrivel and expel juices. Allow tomatoes to cool slightly and then transfer to a bowl. Be sure to pour any juices and oils from parchment paper in the new bowl.
Assembly:
- Arrange baguettes slices on sheet tray. Lightly coat tops of bread with olive oil. Lightly toast baguettes in broiler or 400°F oven for 1-2 minutes until bread is crisp and golden brown in color.
- Spread ricotta cheese over each slice of bread. Sprinkle a little kosher salt on top. Follow with a couple tomatoes and drizzle a little garlic-olive oil sauce on top. Serve immediately.
Notes
Ricotta yields about 8 oz
- In place of lime juice, you may use lemon juice, distilled white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
- Use the freshest, high quality whole milk you can find
- Store leftover ricotta in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-5 days.
- Ricotta recipe adapted from THE MOZZA COOKBOOK
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days
Nutrition
Calories: 438kcal, Carbohydrates: 33g, Protein: 11g, Fat: 30g, Saturated Fat: 14g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 64mg, Sodium: 1303mg, Potassium: 529mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 1481IU, Vitamin C: 13mg, Calcium: 283mg, Iron: 2mg