Strawberry Ricotta Bruschetta

On Saturday mornings, I typically walk down to my neighborhood farmers market in Mt. Pleasant to pick up produce, a handmade ice pop and of course, socialize. I have recently been rather addicted to the handmade ricotta cheese from Cherry Glen Farm, located just outside of DC.  It doesn’t seem to matter what I do with this ricotta – throw it into pasta, spread it on toast, spoon dollops into my eggs – I love it each and every time. On this particular evening, I created a snack for my family to nibble as we waited for our Sunday dinner to be ready.

  • 8 oz. whole grain artisan bread, sliced
  • Olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 oz. fresh, handmade ricotta cheese
  • 8 oz. fresh strawberries, thinly sliced
  • 4 large basil leaves, julienned
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Place the bread slices on a baking sheet. Brush bread slices with olive oil on one side, then season with salt and pepper. Toast the bread in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
  • To assemble toasts, spread ricotta over each slice of bread. top with strawberries and a pinch of basil. Drizzle a little olive oil over each, then finish with a crank of fresh black pepper.
  • Quick Tips
  • 1. At the risk of sounding like a foodist snob, do not even attempt this recipe unless you can find high-quality handmade ricotta. The stuff you get in the plastic tub from the grocery store is in another category completely and you needn’t bother!
  • 2. Lately I seem to look for any excuse to incorporate bread as a main component of my meal. I will admit to having eaten this for lunch one day with an arugula salad on the side. Mighty tasty indeed.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 10 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

 

4 responses to “Strawberry Ricotta Bruschetta”

  1. Nikki says:
    June 3, 2011 at 2:40 am

    Oh, I love the idea of adding the basil and salt. This is similar to one of my favorite summer market meals too! http://nikkirappaport.com/2010/06/06/ricotta-tartines

    Yay for fresh strawberries!

    Reply
  2. Sarah says:
    June 30, 2011 at 6:06 pm

    This was a huge hit at preschool playgroup :) Thank you :)

    Reply

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