Winter Crostini With Squash And Kale

1. 1

   Preheat your oven to 425F. On a large rimmed baking sheet, drizzle the squash cubes generously with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and toss. Roast in the oven, stirring a couple of times to flip (you may smash and destroy some of the little cubes in this process. It's okay. They're going to be mounded on bread anyway.), until the pieces are tender, around 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

2. 2

   Turn the oven down to 375F. Brush the bread slices on both sides with olive oil, put on a baking sheet in a single layer, pop into the oven, and bake until golden, around 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the toasts to a cooling rack.

3. 3

   In the meantime, as the bread toasts, in a large sautee pan, heat 1 Tbs. olive oil over moderately high heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and sautee until golden (1 or 2 minutes), then add the chopped kale. Sprinkle with some salt. Cook, stirring, until the greens have nicely wilted and all their water has been cooked off. Taste and add more salt as desired (I like my greens salty, so I'm not even going to tell you how much I use!). Remove from the heat and gently stir in the squash cubes.

4. 4

   In a small bowl, stir together the ricotta and lemon zest. Spread the ricotta on the toasts, then put a heaping spoonful - maybe two if you can cram on there (we're going for a look of abundance) - of the kale-squash mixture on each toast. Arrange the crostini artfully on a large serving tray. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Serve! These are good warm or at room temperature. They are also good with sparkling wine. Just sayin'

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.