The ingredients are simple in this toast, but sometimes, the simplest ingredients make the most delicious meals. This recipe is centered around the flavors of tomato, basil, garlic, and good quality olive oil. These ingredients may sound simple, but when they're combined it creates the holy grail. The day I made this recipe for my family, they all went crazy for it. It was one of the first meals I cooked during quarantine and soon became a staple in our household. This recipe is now a fan favorite amongst my family friends and every time I see them, they just demand some of this ricotta toast. Ricotta toast is the perfect dish to serve for lunch, brunch, as an appetizer, and even for a snack.
TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes
SERVINGS: 6-8 toasts
INGREDIENTS:
1 ¼ Cups/ 10 oz. Grape or Cherry Tomatoes
About 3/4 Cup Whole Milk Ricotta (to serve)
About 2-3 Tablespoons Good Quality Olive Oil
3-6 Garlic Cloves (peeled)
Fresh Basil
Salt (to taste)
Freshly Ground Pepper (to taste)
6-8 Slices of Bread
RECIPE:
Pierce each tomato with a fork or cut in half. I prefer to cut half of the tomatoes and puncture the other half.
Peel garlic cloves and cut them into halves or thirds.
Heat about two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan on medium low heat. Add garlic to the pan and stir it around, then let it cook until the garlic develops some color. Depending on how much garlic flavor you want, add more/less garlic.
Once the garlic develops some color, add tomatoes to the pan and stir on medium low heat. Throw in some freshly chopped basil and salt the tomatoes very well. Mix, then cover and lower heat.
Lift the cover and mix every couple of minutes until the tomatoes are tender and some their juice comes out. Once tender, remove the tomatoes from the the heat and transfer them into a bowl.
Remove a couple pieces of garlic from the mixture and chop finely. In a bowl mix the finely chopped garlic, ricotta, and freshly chopped basil. My family almost always has roasted garlic from the Whole Foods Antipasti bar, so I usually chop that and put it into the ricotta mixture as well. Grind a lot fresh pepper into the ricotta mixture. If you have a pepper grinder, always freshly grind your pepper. Pre-ground store bought just doesn't taste as great. Add salt to taste to the ricotta mixture.
Toast your bread and then cut a garlic clove in half. Rub the garlic on both sides of the bread (you can omit this step if you don't want an extra kick of garlic).
Spread ricotta mixture on your bread. Top with the tomato mixture, freshly chopped basil, freshly ground black pepper, and drizzle some of the juices from the tomato on top or more olive oil.