Crostini originated when poor Italian peasants used bread to eat their food off of instead of plates, because they didn’t have any! It was often stale and had to be soaked in a liquid to make it edible. Today, you can find crostini around the world, served as small bites in restaurants, weddings, and cocktail parties.
Below is a standard crostini recipe that can be used with all different toppings. But one of my favorite ways to eat crostini is using them to mop up extra pasta sauce, or dipping them in stews!
For this version I wanted to use kumquats as a topping. I fell in love with kumquats after finding them at the farmer’s market – they’re beautiful for decoration on a table and around a turkey. But what do you actually do with them?! I decided to candy the extra kumquats that I had. Because the kumquats are so tart, candying is a great method to sweeten them.
For this appetizer, the candied kumquats pair so well with the creamy, salty herbed ricotta and crunchiness of the crostini, making this a delicious and gorgeous bite.
Ingredients
- 20 Crostini recipe below
- 2 cups Herbed Ricotta recipe below
- 2 cups Candied Kumquats recipe below
Instructions
- Top each crostini with 1-2 tablespoons of herbed ricotta, about 3 candied kumquat rounds, and a small spoon of the syrup on top. Serve immediately.
Ingredients
- 1 sourdough baguette sliced 1/4 inch thick on the bias
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place sliced baguette pieces, oil, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl and toss, making sure all pieces are evenly coated. Place each piece on a parchment-lined sheet pan and toast for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool slightly before using.
Ingredients
For the Herbed Ricotta
- 1 ½ cups ricotta cheese
- Juice and zest from ½ of a lemon
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons fresh or roasted garlic grate the fresh garlic using a microplane, for roasted garlic, see recipe below
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped basil leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped mint
- 2 tablespoon thinly sliced chives
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the Roasted Garlic
- 2 very large heads regular (not elephant) garlic about 1/2 pound total
- 2 small sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon herbes de Provence crumbled
Instructions
For the Herbed Ricotta
- For the herbed ricotta, smash the roasted garlic on your cutting board using your knife, turning it into a paste. Combine all ingredients into a bowl and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
For the Roasted Garlic
- Position rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350F.
- With a serrated knife, cut off the top quarter of the garlic heads, exposing the cloves inside. Set each garlic head in a 9-inch square of heavy-duty foil and partially draw up the sides. Lay the rosemary sprigs atop the garlic. Drizzle the wine and then the olive oil into and around he heads of garlic. Sprinkle the crumbled herbs over all. Enclose the garlic tightly in the foil.
- Set the packets on the rack and bake until the garlic inside the peels is very tender, 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool the garlic to room temperature. Remove cloves and store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups fresh kumquats sliced into rounds, seeds discarded if possible
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 whole cloves
Instructions
- For the candied kumquats, heat the water, sugar and cloves over medium high heat until it comes to a boil. Turn down to low heat and simmer for about 7 minutes. Add in the kumquats and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, pour the kumquats and syrup into a jar and cool completely. This mixture can be made two weeks ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.
