Hi guys!

So it seems like this time of year is all about soups for me. I’ve been stirring up some yummy ones like a lentil soup or chicken vegetable. I’ll be sharing those soon since they’ve been such a hit here in my kitchen and they last for a couple days if you want to warm them up the next day for lunch or for dinner. If you’re having soup for as your main, I find it’s always nice to have a crostini or little side to go along with it. I wanted to share this hearty crostini recipe that I love; Asparagus Ricotta (& Prosciutto) Recipe 🙂 We’re fans of prosciutto in my house, but you can make this a vegetarian recipe and just remove it if you prefer 🙂

Here’s what you need:

-Ricotta Cheese( a small little tub from your grocery store makes about 6 crostini)

-Prosciutto ( thinly sliced of course, 1 slice per crostini)

-Asparagus (I use about 5 if they’re the thin ones per crostini to make them hearty, 3-4 if they’re thicker)

-black pepper and a bit of salt

-basil (3-4 leaves)

-baguette bread

-balsamic glaze (optional)

-olive oil

Here are the easy steps with some pics to help along the way. you can prep everything before and then assemble and pop them in the oven right before serving:

1. Blanche your asparagus for about 5 minutes. Anytime I blanche something I remove them from the boiling water right away and run cold water over them to stop the cooking. This helps in not overcooking your veggies.
2. Prepare your ricotta mixture; In a bowl mix ricotta, chopped up basil, olive oil, and salt & pepper to taste
3. Cut up your baguette in wide pieces and in half like the picture below and drizzle some olive oil on them. Now Assembly time! I like to assemble everything already on the baking sheet that I’m going to bake them in to avoid excess transporting back and forth 🙂
4. Lay prosciutto on baguette, then a spoonful of ricotta mixture, your blanched asparagus, then fold over the prosciutto to keep everything together. Add a quick drizzle of balsamic glaze and a sprinkle of black pepper and you’re ready to pop them into the oven!
5. Bake them at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes so that the ricotta warms, the bread gets crunchy, and that balsamic melts nicely over your prosciutto. Voila! Now you have a great appetizer for your dinner or side for your soup.

Bon appetito!

With Amore,

FM xo