Ricotta and Roasted Tomato Bruschetta with Prosciutto & Sage

So I received the Food and Wine Annual Cookbook 2015 in the mail and was thrilled! I love getting the recap from a year full of recipes, and there’s some beautiful food photography throughout the book. It didn’t take me long to find a picture of this Ricotta and Roasted Tomato Bruschetta with Pancetta on page 23. The recipe seemed easy enough, so I decided to make it (with a few subtle changes) and Viola! … It turned out amazing! I had also been craving some yummy bruschetta after ogling the pictures from The Chunky Chef’s Heirloom Tomato Bruscetta Caprese post. 

The original recipe from the cookbook calls for pancetta, but I already had some prosciutto in the fridge that I needed to use. The prosciutto crisps up like bacon in the oven and crumbles beautifully! Anything that looks like bacon, crisps like bacon, and tastes <somewhat> like bacon — gotta be good (on anything, right?!). 

I heart Crumbly Prosciutto

To make the bruschetta: Toss tomatoes, garlic slices, and thyme lightly with olive oil. 

Spread out tomatoes on one half of a parchment-lined pan, and spread prosciutto on the other half.

Roast the tomatoes and prosciutto in the oven at 325 for about 30 minutes or until the prosciutto crisps. Remove prosciutto onto a paper towel and continue roasting tomatoes until they are bursting (about 10 more minutes). (This is a good time to add your bread to the oven to toast).

Tomatoes bursting with goodness

Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a small pan on medium-high heat. Fry sage leaves for 30-45 seconds until they are green and crispy. Remove onto paper towels. When the tomatoes are done roasting, pour the tomatoes and all of the oils from the parchment paper into a bowl for serving.

For the bread I sliced a large loaf of French bread into thin slices, brushed them with a mix of olive oil and melted butter, and broiled on low for a few minutes. Once the edges started turning brown, they were good to go!  

To assemble, spread a small spoonful of ricotta cheese over each toasted bread slice. Spoon some of the roasted tomato/garlic/olive oil mix and top with a sage leaf or two. Sprinkle with the crumbled prosciutto and sage leaves and you are all set to make them taste buds happy! :)