Roasted Tomato And Ricotta Bruschetta

• Roasted Tomatoes
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 tablespoon fennel seed
• 3 garlic cloves, halved if large (green germ removed)
• 1 dried red chile de arbol, crumbled (or fresh jalepeno or hot red pepper)
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 baguette, thinly sliced - toasted or not
• Ricotta with Lemon
• 2 cups fresh ricotta - it pays to get it from a pork store, local cheesemaker or Italian deli
• 1/2 lemon, juiced and zested
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons best qualily olive oil
• 1/4 cup basil, roughly chopped only if in season

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine halved tomatoes, garlic, fennel seed , chile and olive oil in a gratin or baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring once or twice.
2. Mix the ricotta, lemon juice and zest in a shallow serving bowl. Season the ricotta with salt and pepper to taste and drizzle the top with the good quality olive oil. If seasonal, sprinkle with chopped basil.
3. Toast the baguette slices under the broiler, watching carefully. Honestly, not toasting the bread is fine and certainly eliminates an annoying step. Put toasted or untoasted baguette slices in a bowl or on a serving platter.
4. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and serve warm in the gratin or baking dish, accompanied by the ricotta and bread (and two spoons). Let your guests dig in.....

tomatoes, tomatoes, fennel seed, garlic, red chile, olive oil, baguette, ricotta with lemon, fresh ricotta, lemon, salt, best qualily olive oil, basil

Taken from food52.com/recipes/40149-roasted-tomato-and-ricotta-bruschetta (may not work)