Author Notes
When I think about creating a recipe with a particular ingredient, I get inspiration from the origin of the ingredient. So for ricotta, I thought of classic Italian ingredients that would compliment, without overwhelming, the cheese. Here I used a peppered salami and roasted fennel. The savory salami together with the sweet roasted fennel play enhance each other and don't overpower the ricotta. To balance out the whole dish, I used a dash of aged sherry vinegar on the fennel. Just for fun, I topped the crostini with a fried sage leaf. All of the flavors relate to one another and topped on a crispy crostini, the textures work beautifully. —meganvt01
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Ingredients
- Crostini
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1
good quality baguette
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3 tablespoons
extra virgin olive oil
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salt
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pepper
- Crostini Topping
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1
bulb of fennel
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2 tablespoons
extra virgin olive oil
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salt
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pepper
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1 splash
aged sherry vinegar
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1 cup
fresh ricotta cheese
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1/4 teaspoon
fresh lemon zest
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1/4 cup
extra virgin olive oil
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6
sage leaves
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6
slices best quality peppered salami, cut in shapes to fit on your crostini
Directions
- Crostini
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Preheat your broiler and move an oven rack to the top position.
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Slice the baguette diagonally to get a larger piece of bread.
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Using a kitchen brush, brush each side of the crostini with extra virgin olive oil.
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Sprinkle each side of the crostini with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
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Place the crostini on a broiler rack and broil one to two minutes per side. The crostini should be crispy but not too hard.
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Set the crostini aside for later assembly!
- Crostini Topping
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Preheat your oven to 425.
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Remove the fronds and core from the fennel bulb and roughly chop.
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Toss the chopped fennel with the 2 T extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper.
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Place the fennel on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so to ensure the fennel does not burn. Remove from oven and put in a bowl with a splash of sherry vinegar (not too much!)
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Mix the lemon zest into the ricotta. Set aside.
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Put the 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil over medium high heat in a small skillet.
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Cook the sage leaves in the hot oil for approximately one minute, until crisp but not brown.
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Transfer the sage leave a paper towel to drain and sprinkle with salt.
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Slice the salami in half, placing each half lengthwise on the crostini. Slather the salami with 2 tablespoons or so of ricotta, depending on the size of your slice. Top the ricotta with 1 to 2 tablespoons of roasted fennel. Top the entire crostini with a fried sage leaf.
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