While on our road trip through Charlotte, N.C., my boyfriend and I sampled some amazlingly delicious crostini topped with ricotta. The crostini bread was crispy and the ricotta was creamy and zippy with little flecks of lemon zest. I thought this recipe would be easy to recreate and make even lighter and healthier by topping it off with fresh bruschetta.
Ingredients: 1/2 cup ricotta cheese, 1 slicing tomato, fresh basil (from our garden!), lemon zest, salt/pepper, evoo and a crusty baguette (whole grain is ideal).
Directions:
Slice baguette so that you have short segments. Then slice those segments down the middle so that you have a top and bottom (like a sandwich). Slightly toast the baguette pieces facing upward in a toaster oven or regular oven. While those are toasting, slice your tomato and basil and toss together in a large bowl with evoo, salt and pepper (season to taste).
In a separate bowl, combine the ricotta, lemon zest, salt and pepper and a tad more evoo. I you don’t have a zester, just cut off bits of the lemon peel (excluding the bitter white skin) and chop finely.
Then, top the toasty bread with the ricotta mixture and put back in the toaster or oven for just a couple more minutes. Let it get nice and warm. After, remove the toasted bread and top with the cool tomato mixture and a handful of fresh arugula if you have it. This meal is light, yet filling, easy to make and has lots of great flavor!
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You have tomatoes from your garden already?? I’m beyond jealous!
No tomatoes just yet, but the basil was from our garden. We have a few tomato plants growing right now. Can’t wait for them to start producing. For now, getting our ripe tomatoes from “the teet” (aka harris teeter)!
I love bruschetta. I’ve never tried it with ricotta, but I bet that’d make it really good.