Thyme-Roasted Grapes with Ricotta on Olive Oil Toasts

I found this gem of a recipe on Alexandra's Kitchen Blog and altered it slightly to create a delicious finger food for book club. It's incredibly simple, unique, and absolutely delicious! The sweet grapes and slightly salt cheese taste superb on the olive oil baked toasts.

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf of french bread cut into 1/4" - 1/2" thick slices
• Extra virgin olive oil (you'll need about 3/4 cup)
• 2 cloves of garlic 
• Red grapes
• Kosher salt
• Fresh thyme
• 10 oz. ricotta cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To make the olive oil toasts, paint olive oil on both sides of each slice of bread using a pastry brush. If you lose your patience with this technique, as I often do, pour some olive oil on a small plate and lightly dip each side of the bread in the olive oil. Be careful not to saturate the bread if you use this technique.

Bake the bread on a sheet pan until it starts to turn golden on the bottom, about 8-10 minutes. Flip the bread and cook for an additional 5 minutes until golden brown.

Remove the bread from the oven. When the bread is cool enough to handle, rub the top of each slice with a halved garlic clove.

Turn the oven temperature up to 450 degrees.

Spread grapes on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and thyme. Toss the grapes with your hands to ensure that they are fully coated. Cook for 7 - 9 minutes, until grapes soften and just begin to burst. The smell will be wonderful!

To assemble, spread ricotta on each toast and sprinkle with roasted grapes.