Bruschetta with Confit Garlic, Roasted Tomato & Ricotta

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup olive oil 
• 24 oz cherry tomatoes in a variety of colors
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled (or more, if you like garlic!)
• 1 large onion, sliced into 1-inch pieces
• Duxbury Salt
• 16 oz whole milk ricotta
• 1 French baguette
• Basil for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. In a 3 quart (13” x 9”) baking dish mix the cherry tomatoes, garlic and onion. Add 1/4 cup olive oil, season with a few pinches of Original Blend and a good grind of pepper. 
2. Pop the tomatoes into the oven for one hour, giving them a stir every 20 minutes or so. The juices from the tomatoes will release about halfway through, creating a lot of liquid in the pan. Not to worry, though - this liquid will reduce to become jammy, thick and full of flavor by the end of cooking!
3. While the tomatoes cook, prepare the bread. Slice the baguette into pieces about 1/4 inch thick.
4.  In a large saucepan on the stove, heat 2 tbsp of the remaining olive oil over medium/high heat. Place as many pieces of the French bread, flat side down, as will fit into the pan. Drizzle a bit more olive oil over the tops of the bread. Use tongs to check the bottoms after about 30 seconds or so. You want the bread to have absorbed a good amount of olive oil and be starting to brown. Once you see that the bread is browning, flip each piece and cook the other side until beginning to brown. Remove toasted bread from the pan and add more olive oil before starting on the next batch.
5. Assemble the toasted bread on a large platter. Spoon roughly 1 tbsp of ricotta onto each slice and spread across the bread.
6. Once your tomatoes come out of the oven, spoon about a tbsp of the mixture over the ricotta and garnish each bite with a bit of basil. Sprinkle Original Blend sea salt over the top of each.

Enjoy!

Note: Roasting garlic in olive oil like this transforms it from sharp and pungent to a buttery, mellow, melt-in-your-mouth confit. The flavors blend beautifully with the tomatoes and onion.

Recipe by Danni Viafore @the.vegetarian.foodie