Sweet Red Pepper Crostini Food

RICOTTA ROASTED RED PEPPER CROSTINI

Steps:

• WHILE CROSTINI ARE STILL WARM, rub garlic over baguette slices. Set aside. In a bowl, combine peppers, garlic, parsley, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Spread ricotta over toasted crostini. Top with peppers and garnish with basil, if using.
• Gluten Free Option: I served this recipe on polenta circles at a friend's gathering who is gluten-free. They loved it! Use a tube of store-bought polenta, slice and panfry in oil; top with the ricotta and peppers. So easy.
• MAKES 20 PIECES.
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• Roasted Red Peppers
• Peperoni Rossi Arrostiti
• Each summer the abundance of Ontario's farmed red peppers is wonderful to take advantage of. It's worth picking up a bushel and taking them home to roast or turn into a sauce. Long Sheppard peppers are great as they have fewer seeds in them and a meaty flesh that is full of flavour.
• sweet red bell or Sheppard peppers (approx. 11 lb / 5 kg), washed ALLOW PEPPERS TO DRY. Preheat your grill or barbecue to medium-high heat. Fill the grill with peppers and close lid. Grill for 15 to 25 minutes, turning often, until skins are blistered and charred. Remove to a large bowl or baking sheet and repeat with remaining peppers.
• Let cool until peppers are easy enough to handle and remove skins and seeds (don't worry if there are some seeds sticking). Place peppers into small resealable bags, about 3 or 4 per bag and press out the air. Lay flat and freeze for up to 1 year. When you want to use them, simply let them come to room temperature or let thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
• Roasted Red Pepper Sauce: Puree roasted red peppers in a blender or food processor until smooth and freeze in airtight containers or resealable bags for up to 1 year.
• MAKES 10 PACKAGES.
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• Crostini
• Crostini are very versatile. There are seemingly infinite different toppings you can put on them. I like to cook these until they are lightly golden and still a bit soft in the centre; makes it easier to bite into it and not have it shatter. It's never a good thing to have your food all over the front of your shirt. My Zias would surely ask me to take my messy shirt off to wash it for me!
• Half a baguette, sliced into about ½-inch
• (1 cm) thick slices
• Tbsp (30 mL) extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) fresh ground pepper
• PREHEAT OVEN TO 400°F (200°C). Brush baguette slices with oil and place on baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes or until they are light golden. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• MAKES ABOUT 20 CROSTINI.

SWEET PEPPER CROSTINI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet. Brush the oil over the bread slices. Bake until pale golden and crisp, about 15 minutes. Arrange the bell pepper strips atop the bread. Sprinkle with the cheese. Broil until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes.

ROASTED RED PEPPER PESTO CROSTINI

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350°F.
• Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet and brush lightly on both sides with the 1/4 cup olive oil.
• Lightly toast both sides of bread in oven.
• While the crostini are still warm, rub the top of each one with 1 of the garlic cloves. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the red peppers, the remaining garlic clove, the almonds, cheese, 3 Tbs. of the parsley, the lemon juice, the 2 teaspoons olive oil and the cayenne pepper. Pulse until a coarse puree forms. Season with salt and black pepper.
• Place the crostini in a single layer on a baking sheet.
• Spread about 2 teaspoons of the goat cheese on each crostini.
• Bake until the cheese is slightly soft and the crostini are warm, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a platter and top each with about 1 Tbs. of the red pepper pesto.
• Sprinkle with the remaining 1 Tbs. parsley.

SWEET RED PEPPER CROSTINI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet. Brush the bread with oil and bake until the bread is pale golden and crisp, about 15 minutes. (The crostini can be prepared up to this point 1 day ahead. Cool, then store airtight at room temperature. Return the crostini to a baking sheet before proceeding.)
• Preheat the broiler. Arrange the bell pepper strips atop the crostini and sprinkle with the cheese. Broil until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Transfer the crostini to a platter and serve immediately.