Ricotta toast is a home cook’s dream: easy, quick, great for breakfast, lunch, or a quick appetizer, and you can tailor sweet and savory toppings according to what you have on hand. This recipes focuses on using tomato and asparagus. Other popular toppings that you can swap out the tomato and asparagus are mushroom and Prosciutto.

Ingredients

• 1 head garlic
• 3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
• ½ bunch asparagus, sliced into ½-inch pieces on the bias
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste
• ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided, plus more to taste
• 1 12-ounce French Baguette, cut into ½-inch slices (see recipe for easy home Baguette)
• 1 cup whole-milk ricotta
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil, for garnish

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Prepare the roasted garlic by slicing off the top of the garlic head and leave the cloves intact and exposed. Place the garlic on a sheet of aluminum foil, drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil, wrap the foil tightly around it and place on a sheet pan. Roast for 25 minutes.
3. While garlic is roasting combine the tomatoes, shallots, asparagus, the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper in a medium bowl. Toss combination well and then transfer the vegetables to the parchment-lined baking sheet.
4. After the garlic has roasted for 25 minutes, add the vegetables to the oven. Continue to roast the garlic and the veggies for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are lightly browned and cooked through. Let the vegetables and garlic cool for 5 minutes.
5. Lay the baguette slices in an even layer on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, until the bread is toasted and golden brown.
6. Carefully squeeze the garlic cloves into a food processor and discard the garlic skins. Add the ricotta, ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Process for 30 seconds, until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
7. Spread about 1 tablespoon of whipped ricotta onto each piece of toast. Evenly distribute the vegetables on top, and garnish with basil. Serve immediately.