Roasted Grape/Olive Crostini

Roasted Grape/Olive Crostini

Serves: 12 crostini

Difficulty: Easy

Roasted Grape/Olive Crostini 

When this recipe arrived in my email inbox (smittenkitchen.com), well, I jumped on it and made it that night (with my own minor modifications). Thank you Smitten Kitchen! I have repeated the recipe several times since. It is incredibly easy and so very different. You could likely use any combination of grapes and olives but I love the sweet red/purple grapes coupled with the briny kalamata olives. I only had rosemary growing in my garden for the first attempt but other herbs would work as well. In order to highlight the combined flavors of grapes and olives, I felt a relatively light and spreadable cheese best – hence ricotta. I also used whole milk ricotta…just because I wanted the creamy feel. Use low fat ricotta if you must.

Roasting time will also vary with choice of grapes and olives.  You want the olives softened but not burnt and hard.  You want the grapes to soften and get leaky – this is the greatest variable and depends on type and age of grape. So watch it in the oven – you’ll see the juices explode from the grape and know when you have achieved this magic alchemy.

Olives....

...and yummy grapes!

• 2 Tb olive oil
• 1 C grapes, seedless green, red or purple
• 1 C olives, pitted, rinsed of brine, dry
• 1½ tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary, divided
• Sea Salt
• Red Pepper flakes
• About 12 toasted baguette slices
• ¾ C whole milk ricotta

Heat oven to 400 degree F. Combine olive oil, grapes, olives, 1 tsp rosemary, a couple of pinches of sea salt and red pepper flakes in a baking dish or roasting pan. 

Ready to roast

Roast until the grapes are wilted and leaking juices, about 40-50 minutes, rolling ingredients around in the pan a few times throughout roasting to encourage even cooking and sharing of juices.

Post-roasting...steeped in the juices.

Slather toast with ricotta, and then heap each with grapes/olive mixture and the pan juices. Finish with remaining rosemary and eat immediately.  I do think it is best served from the oven.  So wonderful…I just know you’ll be making this often.

Enjoy!

Larue