This little appetizer is a wonderful combo of textures and flavors! Perfect to celebrate making it through another week!
When I was eight years old, my parents bought an acre of land to build their dream home. I have vivid memories of the time because it was also when my little sister was born. My parents had already sold our previous home so while the house was built, we spent time living with my grandparents.
I’m not sure how long it took to be built (time in an eight year old’s mind is not the most reliable), but when we moved in I was so beyond delighted! Our lot was at the end of the cul de sac on the right and down a hill which became our driveway. In the back part of our lot was another hill ending with a ravine that later turned into a hiking & horse trail. The house was painted bright white with black trim. The front yard had a retaining wall and a very long, very green grass lawn. On the front hill, my parents had planted honeysuckle which would later take over. The backyard and back hill was huge, an open wild canvas (aka lots of dirt and on the project list). Before owning my own home, I didn’t really appreciate what that meant and how much it all cost. I’m sure my parents had put so much into every detail of the house and then needed to save up to do the back the way they wanted.
While doing the backyard would take some time, my mom wanted to grow EVERYTHING. She would say she was setting us up to ‘live off the land’. She grew herbs, squash, lettuces, root veggies, strawberries. You name it, she would try to grow it and make sure we knew what the plants looked and smelled like. Out of everything she grew, she always took the most pride in her fruit trees. She had and still has an amazing variety. She grew lemon, lime, mandarin, calamansi, loquats, persimmon, pomegranate, apple, avocado, banana and I’m sure more I can’t remember. I remember being surrounded by houses next door and across the ravine who had pools, tennis courts and much fancier landscaping. My sister and I would always ask our parents when they were going to fix up our backyard. They eventually did (after we had both moved out, lol), but when I think back now, I really treasure the memories of weaving through the trees on the wild-ish hillside with my mom and sis, picking and eating all of the fresh fruit. I also giggle thinking about how often she came home with new trees for my Dad to plant; he would make a funny smirk or joke, but then plant them anyway.
Kumquats are a citrus I really began loving within the last five years or so. They’re petite and bright and so interesting. But they can be a little pricey at the market ($8 per lb. sometimes). So a few years ago, my husband help me plant a Centennial kumquat tree. We had just bought a gorgeous three-foot tall indigo blue planter from a garden store ‘closing’ sale and the tree fit perfectly (plus I was in love with the idea of the bright orange alongside the dark blue). That same year, he also planted Meyer lemon, Eureka lemon, mandarin, lime and grapefruit trees as gifts. It’s taken all the trees a few years to really settle in. But this season, we’ve been blessed with a huge bounty. It’s been so wonderful watching my husband, who is really the green thumb in the family tend to them. And now I get to watch Braden and Ellie pick them and taste them and marvel at how we grew them. It’s amazing how life finds a way to come full circle and remind you what was most important all along.
What is a Kumquat?
The Kumquat originated in China (and translates into ‘golden orange’). Depending on the kumquat variety, the fruit is about the size of a large grape. The skin of the kumquat is sweet while its flesh is very tart (opposite of most citrus). This allows them to be eaten whole, peel and all.
While they can be eaten as is, there are so many sweet and savory recipes that use kumquats too. The kumquats can be roasted, pickled or made into a lovely salsa or marmalade. They are also wonderful in baked goods. I love roasting them and having on hand to throw into salads, use on toast, or to pair with a protein.
The Centennial kumquat variety is slightly larger than the Nagami and has a sweet skin. It is believed to have resulted from a spontaneous mutation in the 1980’s made from a Nagami kumquat and a mandarin.
This recipe
To prepare the kumquats for this recipe, I roasted with olive oil and date syrup (Just Date Syrup). I cut the kumquats into 1/4 inch pieces which makes them easy to top on toast. Slicing this way also helps remove the larger seeds. Although the seeds can be eaten, the bigger ones are harder to bite through. I like roasting just to the point of that caramelizing process, but still keeping some of the juiciness of the flesh.
The combination of the kumquats’ chewy texture and the smooth, soft texture of the ricotta is really wonderful. The more tart-sweet flavor of the kumquats also pairs well with the mild sweet flavor of the ricotta. I like to drizzle with a little more date syrup and sprinkle with black sesame seeds for a little crunch.
If you haven’t tried kumquats before, try roasting them this way and see what you think! Have an awesome weekend! And as always, thanks so much for reading!
Valerie
- 1 lb kumquats (~12)
- 2 teaspoons date syrup (plus about another teaspoon for drizzling at the end)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Sea salt
- ½ cup Ricotta Cheese
- 1 Baguette, sliced
- Black sesame seeds (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
- Place parchment paper on a lined sheet pan
- Cut the kumquats into ¼ inch slices
- In a small bowl, whisk together the date syrup, olive oil and salt. Add the kumquat slices to bowl and toss to coat.
- Pour the kumquats onto the sheet pan and spread in one even layer. Bake for 15 minutes until caramelizing begins.
- Remove the kumquats from the oven and let cool.
- While the kumquats are cooling, place the slices of baguettes on a sheet pan and place in the oven for ~3-5 minutes until lightly toasted.
- Remove the toasts from the oven and spread with some ricotta. Add 2 or 3 slices of kumquat, then drizzle a little more date syrup on top. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds (optional) and enjoy!
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