These little crostini with basil whipped ricotta & tomato confit are incredibly addicting. Just a warning. They have all the best flavors and are a perfect appetizer. The whipped ricotta is so fluffy and creamy. It’s speckled with fresh basil and it tastes AMAZING. The tomatoes are slow roasted in the oven along with fresh garlic, herbs & spices making them even more yummy & sweet.
What is tomato confit?
“Confit” essentially means to cook slowly in fat. You’ve probably heard of duck confit. The duck meat is cooked in its own fat, low and slow. But for these tomatoes, they are cooked at 325 for 50-60 minutes in a bath of olive oil. They slightly burst and become even sweeter. Plus all the garlic, thyme and seasonings enhance them making them even more delicious.
How to make basil whipped ricotta
- Add ricotta, chopped basil, salt and heavy cream to a food processor and pulse until all combined. About 1 minute. The ricotta will turn a pretty green hue from all the fresh basil.
- Once that’s all combined, drizzle in the olive oil and continue processing for another minute. The mixture will be like a fluffy cloud. Adjust the salt to your liking.
I love ricotta cheese. It has such a deliciously mild flavor that can take a lot of other flavors. It’s also very rich. You wanna make sure to use whole milk for this recipe! These little crostini with basil whipped ricotta & tomato confit come together very easily. I like to pipe the ricotta using a pastry bag. You can easily use a zip log bag instead. Or a spoon or knife.
Assembling the crostini
- Pipe your ricotta mixture your slice of bread.
- Top with a couple tomatoes.
- Sprinkle with salt and finish with freshly chopped basil.
Crostini with Basil Whipped Ricotta & Tomato Confit
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Small baking dish 8×8 square pan or 8 inch cake pan
Ingredients
Basil Whipped Ricotta
- 1 cup packed basil
- 1½ cups whole milk ricotta
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Tomato Confit
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 4-6 cloves garlic
- 6-8 sprigs of thyme
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1½ tbsp lemon zest
- 2 tsp crushed red pepper optional
- 1 french baguette sliced or sourdough
- basil for topping
- flake salt for topping
Instructions
Basil Whipped Ricotta
- Add everything to food processor except the olive oil. Pulse on high until well blended. About 1 minute. Drizzle in the olive oil and continue processing for another minute until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a piping or ziploc bag and refrigerate until ready to use. You could also spread with a knife instead.
Tomato Confit
- Add the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon zest, crushed red pepper and thyme to your baking dish. Tuck the thyme under the tomatoes into the oil. Bake for 50-60 minutes until the tomatoes burst. 10 minutes before removing the tomato confit, add the sliced crostini to a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil and bake until crisp.
Assembling
- Pipe the basil whipped ricotta onto the crostini. Top with tomato confit, flake salt and fresh basil. Enjoy!
