Roasted garlic ricotta and red peppers crostini are the perfect appetizer to enjoy during these warmer days!
If you are like me and obsessed over appetizers, you will definitely love this! These bite sized roasted garlic ricotta red peppers crostini are made from crusty grilled bread and topped with smashed ricotta which has mixed in deliciously sweet roasted garlic. The ricotta is topped with chopped herb marinated red peppers. A simple recipe but it’s packed with so many balancing flavours.
What are Crostini?
Crostini are bite sized grilled bread pieces with different toppings on top. They originate from Italy and are a famous appetizer to enjoy before a meal or with a couple of drinks during an aperitivo. You can find ready made crostini, however they are also incredibly easy to make yourself. I like to make them with narrow bread such as a baguette. You can use either fresh bread or day old stale bread. All you need to do is cut the baguette with a serrated knife into small – not so thin – pieces. Drizzle with olive oil, grill in the oven or over a grill pan until they are all nicely cooked and crispy. Serve immediately warm or let slightly cool down.
How to make roasted garlic ricotta
Roasting garlic in the oven is a game changer. It’s a simple thing to do but it elevates so many dishes. All you need is to remove any extra peel from the whole piece of garlic. Cut the top part and drizzle olive oil on the exposed garlic cloves. Wrap in foil and roast at 200°C/390°F for about 40 minutes. Once it’s done, simply let it cool slightly and squeeze out all the delicious smooth roasted garlic.
For this recipe of roasted garlic ricotta red peppers crostini, I mashed in the garlic with ricotta until everything is smooth and creamy. Let the covered mixture rest for at least 30 minutes in the fridge so that the flavours can get to know each other better and you will get a tastier ricotta spread.
How to roast red peppers
In this recipe, the roasted red peppers are a sweet condiment which balances perfectly with the flavourful roasted garlic ricotta.
You can use ready bought jarred roasted red peppers, however they’re easy to make fresh at home, as I did!
If you want to make yourself the roasted red peppers, read along and don’t be intimidated as it’s one of the simplest things you can cook. If you have a gas stove, place the pepper directly on the gas burner, turning frequently until all the skin is all nicely charred. We want the pepper’s skin to be black! Do not let the pepper on flames unattended!
You can also do this charring peppers in the oven. Turn the oven to its highest temperature setting, lightly brush the peppers with oil and salt. Place the peppers in a parchment lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for at least 30 minutes. Ideally use oil that has a high smoking point such as canola oil, sunflower oil or vegetable oil. Do not use olive oil as it will burn quickly. Turn frequently so that you get a uniform char on the pepper. In addition, it’s best to place the baking sheet at the top of the oven so that peppers can easily get some nice char. As this is what we want.
Once roasted, and once you have a nice char on them, place the hot peppers in a bowl and cover with cling film or aluminium foil. Let them rest until cool. Gently remove the skins and the seeds from the inside of the pepper.
For this recipe, I chopped the peppers into bite size pieces and mixed in with olive oil, dried mint and basil, salt and pepper. I left them marinate for at least 30 minutes.
FAQs
How to store these roasted garlic ricotta red peppers crostini?
Do not store assembled crostini in the fridge as the ricotta will seep in the bread, which will make the crostini all soggy and mushy. Ideally all three components are stored separately and only assembled when ready to consume. You can store the baked crostini outside in an airtight container. Whereas, the ricotta and roasted red peppers can be stored in air tight containers in the fridge for not more than 3 days.
Roasted Garlic Ricotta and Red Peppers Crostini
Ingredients
Crostini
- 1 baguette
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- flaky sea salt
Roasted Red Peppers
- 2 red peppers
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried mint
- 1 tsp dried basil
Roasted Garlic Ricotta
- 250 g ricotta
- 1 whole garlic head
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
Roasted Red Peppers
- Preheat the oven to 450°F or 230°C.
- Lightly oil the peppers with some sunflower or vegetable oil. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Roast the peppers for about 30/40 minutes rotating half way until the peppers have a good amount of char marks. Once done, place the hot peppers in a bowl and cover with cling film or aluminium foil. Let them rest until cool. Gently remove the skins and the seeds from the inside of the pepper.
- Chop the peppers into bite size pieces. Place in a bowl with the olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper. Let marinate for about 30 minutes.
Roasted Garlic Ricotta
- Remove most of the outer peel of the garlic and cut off the top part of the head of garlic. Drizzle the exposed garlic with the olive oil.
- Wrap in foil and roast in the oven for about 40 minutes. Check the centre garlic clove. If it is soft you can stop baking. If not, it needs additional cooking. You can roast it for more time to add some caramelisation. However, check the garlic every 10 minutes so that it doesn’t burn. Once ready, let the garlic cool. Squeeze out the garlic and mash it with a fork.
- In a small bowl mix together the mashed garlic, ricotta, salt and pepper. Store in the fridge covered for about 30 minutes.
Crostini
- Preheat the oven to 450°F or 230°C. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
- Slice the baguette into about 24 pieces. Lightly brush each side of the bread with olive oil, and place them on the lined baking tray.
- Bake the crostini for about 10 minutes (or less), until the crostini are nicely golden brown and have a crisp. Top the crostini immediately or let them cool slightly.
Assembly
- Top each crostini with a spoonful of roasted garlic ricotta. Add a few pieces of chopped roasted red peppers. Drizzle with some of the red peppers marinade and sprinkle generously with flaky sea salt. Enjoy!
If you have any questions, feedback or comments on this recipe, please leave a comment below. Please also rate this recipe by double clicking on the stars below. If you did make this recipe, tag @apronandwhisk and hashtag #apronandwhisk, as I’m curious to see what you create!
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