If you read my last post you already know I picked up sourdough baking during quarantine. Very original, I know. Well, I also picked up making homemade ricotta. A friend and colleague of mine shared her recipe with me and said she had been working on it in quarantine so it sounded like something I should try as well. And it doubled as an eLearning science lesson.

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You can make your own sourdough and ricotta or you can buy the store bought versions. I will say that I do love how creamy homemade ricotta is instead of the slightly grainy texture of store bought. BUT, both would work here. If you are going to make your own homemade sourdough (recipe here) and ricotta (recipe here), there are lots of recipes online. I would suggest making those the day before and then assembling this appetizer to have on hand while you make a Sunday Supper. This recipe goes best with a Johnnyswim Live From The Backyard or Songs with Strangers episode on and a glass of wine in your hand.

Ingredients:

• Sourdough bread or baguette cut into slices
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• Honey
• 1 cup crushed pistachios

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Recipe:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Slice bread and place on cookie sheet
3. Bake bread for 10 minutes
4. While bread bakes, put pistachios is a plastic baggie
5. Crush pistachios with the back of a ladle or meat tenderizer
6. Take bread out of oven and spread as much ricotta as you’d like on each piece of bread
7. Drizzle each slice with honey
8. Sprinkle pistachios on each piece
9. Enjoy the creamy, salty, chewy deliciousness
10. If the kids are not super excited about the ricotta, skip the ricotta and just top with honey +/- the nuts

This is a favorite in our house. I can barely get one piece assembled before someone is grabbing it off the plate. I hope you will enjoy it too!

Happy cooking!

Mel

One of the hobbies I picked up during quarantine was baking sourdough. Like so many other people, it seemed like a good skill to develop when I had more time on my hands. Baking two loaves a week meant that I had to figure out how to use all that bread so this appetizer has become something of a regular at our house. This time of year the garden is spilling over with tomatoes of all sizes and basil. Add a little garlic, olive oil, and balsamic reduction and you’ve got yourself something quite delicious. This recipe goes best with a little Leon Bridges on Spotify and a glass of wine.

Ingredients:

• 3 large tomatoes cut in large chunks on a mix of large and cherry tomatoes
  • Keep cherry tomatoes whole
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Balsamic reduction
• Handful of chopped fresh basil
  • Chiffonade the basil if you want to get fancy with it
• Crumbled goat cheese (optional)
• Homemade or store bought sourdough cut into slices and halved
  • A french baguette would also work well

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Slice bread and place on sheet tray
3. Rub one side bread with a garlic clove
4. Wash tomatoes and cut in large chunks (if large)
5. Slice garlic cloves
6. Add tomatoes and garlic to an oven safe pan
7. Add olive oil and salt and pepper to taste
8. Stir mixture so every bit of tomatoes are coated with olive oil and garlic is spread out
9. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes
10. Change oven setting to broil
11. Broil for 5-10 minutes until tomatoes are blistered
12. Let cool 5 minutes
13. While tomatoes are cooling, switch oven back to bake at 400 and toast bread for 5 minutes
14. Top tomato mixture with a drizzle of balsamic reduction, basil, and the optional crumbled goat cheese
15. Dip the warm bread right into the pan to soak up the olive oil goodness and make sure to get some of everything in every bite.

We love this appetizer when we’re having a lighter dinner or having a nice slow night. I just love everyone gathered around the kitchen island kids usually sitting on the island around a yummy, warm dish. We usually top half of this with the crumbled goat cheese so the kids can avoid that if they so choose.

Since we’re supposed to have a super early freeze this next week, I will likely be making this a time or two to use up my tomatoes and basil.

I hope you enjoy!

Happy cooking!
Mel