Description
Sweet, salty, and perfectly satisfying from rich whole milk ricotta, these quick appetizers will keep the appetites satiated while you wait for dinner. See notes for measurement details.
Ingredients
- soft French or narrow seeded baguette, sliced about ¼” thick
- olive oil
- whole milk ricotta cheese
- thinly sliced pears
- good honey (local + raw, if available!)
- few pinches dried thyme
- crushed red chile flakes (optional – crushed black pepper is also nice)
- good, flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat broiler.
- Arrange sliced baguette on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Broil until golden and toasty, just a minute or two — keep an eye on it! (For crunchier crostini, you can actually bake them at 350F, but I prefer the texture of only one toasty surface. Less crumby, too!)
- Just before serving, top toasts with a generous smear of the whole milk ricotta, a couple of pear slices and a drizzle of honey. Lightly crush dried thyme in the palm of your hand to release aroma and sprinkle over top. Finish with chile flakes (or black pepper) and a good sprinkle of sea salt. Enjoy!
Notes
This is less of a recipe and more of a method that results in a fantastically tasty (and shamefully simple — but elegant!) snack or starter. I really do believe that using whole milk ricotta is the key to making these little toasts feel more substantial than they appear. For a gluten/grain-free variation, skip the toasts and smear the ricotta directly on a thicker slice of pear, adding just a drizzle of olive oil over the top (along with the honey) to maintain that key savoriness. Yum!
Also, I’ve not provided specific quantities since you can make as many or as few as you’d like. For an extra-small portion (let’s say, a personal-sized snack to enjoy while watching Vampire Diaries), the toasts broil up perfectly in a toaster oven. :)
- Category: Appetizer, Side