Ricotta & Roasted Garlic Bread

I could honestly eat ricotta cheese straight out of the container. I happened to have some in my refrigerator, I was making spaghetti and meatballs and wanted some cheesy bread, and voila! This lovely combination of ricotta and roasted garlic came to me. Don't get me wrong, I love raw garlic as much as the next Greek girl, but I thought I would go with roasted garlic for this cheesy bread to give it a milder flavor considering this is a side dish. It's not overwhelming but this is definitely garlic bread. Try making this in place of bread sticks for a little something different!

Ricotta & Roasted Garlic Bread

Makes 10 servings (2 pieces each)

Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 loaf French bread

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 head of garlic

1 Tbsp parsley

1 Tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Peel back the first few layers of the garlic skin. Cut the head of garlic in half. Cut the tops off of the top cloves of garlic.

2. Drizzle olive oil on top of the cloves. Wrap in tin foil and bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes.

3. Squeeze garlic cloves out of the skin. Smash the garlic cloves with a fork to break them up. Mix garlic cloves, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.

4. Cut the French bread loaf in half lengthwise. Spread cheese and garlic mixture evenly over the two slices. Broil in the oven for 2 or 3 minutes just to toast the bread, watching carefully. Slice into individual servings and enjoy!

Mmmm I LOVE garlic. Peel back the first few layers of the skin and chop the head in half. Cut the tops off of the cloves.

Drizzle olive oil on top of the cloves, wrap in tin foil, and get ready for your kitchen to smell AMAZING as it bakes in the oven for 30 minutes.

The cloves become milder and kind of sweet after they bake. They squeeze out of the skin very easily. Give them a few mashes with a fork and mix them with the cheeses, parsley, salt, and pepper. Make sure to taste test the mixture here and add salt and pepper as needed.

Slice the bread loaf in half and spread the mixture evenly on both pieces. Broil for 2 or 3 minutes and KEEP CHECKING to make sure you just toast the bread and don't burn it. I've definitely done it before! I practically glue my hand to the oven door and check it every 5 seconds just to be sure!

This was a delightful side dish to my spaghetti and meatballs and it would go well with any meal you would eat breadsticks with. The ricotta stays creamy but the bread gets crunchy and then there's the warm garlic flavor. Oh man it's good!