crostini with lemon ricotta, fresh basil, black pepper and drizzled with a vanilla infused olive oil

Crostini means “little toasts” in Italian… so topping my “little toasts” with a creamy lemon ricotta cheese, adding a few twists of black pepper, some basil and adding a little sweetness with a drizzle of vanilla infused olive oil gives these “little toasts” a bit of panache.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of home-made ricotta cheese (click for recipe)
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed (optional)
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• sea salt
• 1  stick of french bread cut into slices (1cm thick)
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced in half (optional)
• freshly ground black pepper
• a handful of fresh basil leaves, finely sliced
• vanilla infused olive oil or plain olive oil

Combine the ricotta cheese, garlic and lemon zest in a small bowl, season with sea salt to taste. This can be prepared some hours in advance and stored in the refrigerator until needed.

Preheat the grill to high and lightly toast french bread slices on both sides until golden brown. Rub the cut side of garlic over one side of each piece of toasted bread. When cooled spread the prepared ricotta cheese on top of each piece of crostini. Season with a few twists of black pepper, drizzle over some vanilla olive oil and scatter over fresh basil on top and serve.