Honey-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Lemon and Basil Bruschetta

Not to be confused with crostini, which is thinner and toasted (and wonderful in its own right), bruschetta consists of grilled bread adorned with delicious things.
- What I Learned This Week

A while ago, while trying to come up with a nice, light appetizer for our Sunday roast chicken, I stumbled upon a wonderful recipe for a cabbage soup from The River Café. It consisted of savoy cabbage, ricotta, and crostini in a light broth. Very simple and very satisfying. Since I still had some ricotta left I decided to use various aspects of that dish is this weeks roast. I incorporated the broth into the main dish but made a richer appetizer as our meat of choice this week was halibut. I decided to go with a bruschetta and I topped it with cherry tomatoes, that I'd roasted in honey and olive oil, and ricotta that I mixed with a little homemade pesto and fresh basil leaves. L said she liked the balance of the sweet tomato and grassy notes of the ricotta, it was a great appetizer with our pan-roasted halibut.

Honey-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Lemon and Basil Bruschetta
serves 2

Ingredients
250g cherry tomatoes
1 T clear honey
3 T olive oil
100g Fresh Ricotta
10 small Basil leaves
1 T pesto (either homemade or good quality store-bought)
zest from half a Lemon zest 
1 Small demi-baguette sliced
Maldon salt and freshly ground long pepper (regular pepper would do) 
Olive oil

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Halve the tomatoes and place them, cut side up, in a baking dish. Pack them in tight.
2. Crush a pinch of salt into the honey, olive oil, add a good pinch of long pepper and mix. Spoon over the cherry tomatoes. Roast for about 30 minutes.
3. Brush one side of the bread with olive oil and grill until you get some nice char lines.
4. Mix fresh ricotta with lemon zest and pesto, then fold in a few small basil leaves. Spread onto the grilled toasts. Top with the honey-roasted tomatoes, a thread of honey, and a small pinch of course Maldon salt and long pepper.
5. Finish with a drizzle of the remaining tomato/honey/oil from the pan.