Sweet Corn & Cherry Tomato Crostini
These delicious crostini are peak summer goodness! They go together fast and don’t ask much of you. Grab a good baguette, sweet corn, and a pint of cherry tomatoes, and you’re most of the way there.
Sweet Corn & Cherry Tomato Crostini
Makes about 20 to 24 Crostini
Cook/Prep Time: 30 to 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS
The toasts
1 baguette, sliced on an angle about ½ inch thick
Olive oil, for brushing
The whipped ricotta
1 (15-16 oz) container whole-milk ricotta
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil, zest of 1 lemon, salt
The corn and tomato topping
2 ears sweet corn
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
A handful of fresh basil, torn
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper
The chili honey (make ahead)
⅓ cup honey
1 to 2 teaspoons Calabrian chili paste, or a
couple of whole jarred Calabrian chilies, minced fine (or a good hot honey)
To finish
Flaky salt, a little basil, a drizzle of chili honey
MAKE IT
1. Start with the ricotta — it needs a head start. Set it in a fine strainer, coffee filter or in cheesecloth over a bowl and leave it in the fridge for an hour, or overnight if you can. Draining is what lets it whip up silky instead of grainy, and it keeps the finished toasts from going wet.
2. Make the Calabrian chili honey. Warm the honey just until it loosens, then stir in the Calabrian chili a little at a time, tasting as you go. The paste stirs right in; if you’re using whole jarred chilies, mince a couple fine first. It keeps in the fridge for weeks, so make it whenever.
3. Toast the bread. Heat the oven to 400°F, brush the slices with olive oil, and toast on a sheet pan until golden and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. A hot grill works just as well.
4. Grill the corn whole. Lay the ears right on a hot cast-iron skillet, or over a gas or charcoal grill, and turn them now and then until they’re charred in spots all around. Let them cool enough to handle, then stand each ear up and cut the kernels off.
5. Mix the topping and let it sit. In a bowl, combine the corn, tomatoes, a little of the basil, the lemon zest,olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Give it 15 or 20 minutes while everything else comes together — the salt pulls juice from the tomatoes and it turns into its own light dressing. Hold back the rest of the basil for the top.
6. Whip the ricotta by hand, no machine needed. Wide bowl, add the olive oil, lemon zest, and a little salt, and whisk hard until it’s smooth and glossy, about a minute.
7. Build them right before serving. Smear each toast with ricotta, then spoon the topping on with a slotted spoon so the juice stays behind in the bowl (that’s the enemy of crisp bread — though it’s too good to waste, so mop it with an extra slice). Finish with a drizzle of chili honey, the reserved basil, and a touch of salt. Don’t build them ahead or the bread softens on you
Do ahead: The ricotta, chili honey, and corn-tomato mix can all be made ahead (the honey keeps for weeks). Keep them separate and build the toasts at the last minute.
Celebrate summer the Italian way...
Shop seasonal produce at your local markets then build your very own Italian inspired table with the addition of imported cheeses,specialty pantry products, dried pastas and more - found at the Broders’ Cucina Italiana marketplace.
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