Crudité Recipe

Wash all vegetables thoroughly. Peel and cut carrots into 3–4 inch sticks. Trim and cut cucumber into similar sticks. Seed and slice bell peppers into strips. Trim celery and cut into sticks. Halve or quarter radishes as needed. Leave cherry tomatoes whole and cut jicama into sticks if using. Place prepared vegetables on a platter or individual serving trays and chill briefly while making spreads.

Simmer and infuse

Place peeled garlic cloves in a small saucepan. Add olive oil to cover the cloves (about 1 cup), add the rosemary sprig and bay leaf, and season with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Bring oil to a bare simmer over low heat — do not boil. Maintain a gentle simmer and cook until garlic is very soft and lightly golden, 25–35 minutes depending on clove size. The garlic should easily mash with a spoon.

Remove from heat and let cool in the oil to room temperature. Discard the rosemary and bay leaf. Reserve the garlic cloves and strained oil (store extra oil refrigerated for other uses).

Make the spread

Place 8–10 softened confit garlic cloves in a small bowl. Mash with a fork to a paste, then stir in 1 tsp sherry or white wine vinegar to brighten, and 1/2 tsp of the reserved confit oil. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. If you prefer a smoother spread, pulse the garlic, vinegar and oil in a small food processor until smooth.

In a small food processor or blender, add 1 cup whole-milk ricotta, 2 tablespoons heavy cream, 1 tablespoon olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, and 1 tsp chopped thyme (if using). Pulse or blend until smooth and airy, about 30–60 seconds. Scrape down the sides and blend briefly again. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt, pepper or a squeeze of lemon if desired.

Transfer whipped ricotta to a shallow serving bowl. Drizzle with a little confit oil (about 1 tsp) and a pinch of flaky sea salt.

Arrange the chilled vegetable sticks and whole cherry tomatoes around the whipped ricotta and a separate small bowl or dish of garlic confit spread on a serving platter. Reserve several whole confit garlic cloves on the side so guests can add them to vegetables or crostini.

Drizzle 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil over vegetables lightly and sprinkle the vegetables with the remaining flaky sea salt. Garnish both spreads with chopped parsley and an additional grind of black pepper.

Serve immediately with toasted baguette slices or crackers if using. Leftover confit garlic and oil can be refrigerated up to 2 weeks; whipped ricotta keeps 2–3 days covered in the refrigerator.