One of the best parts about making fresh bread is turning that bread into toast. Smear some butter and jam or turn it into a savory toast, it'll all be good. This charred ricotta toast doesn't necessarily need fresh homemade bread but it sure adds that extra touch. Luckily, the charred ricotta, lemon caper olive oil, balsamic walnuts, and sauteed bell peppers add so much flavor that you can get away with regular storebought bread. It's just oh so good.

Recipe

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Charred Ricotta Toast

4-6 slices of toast

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: sandwich

Servings: 4

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Balsamic walnuts

• ½ cup walnuts raw
• 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• pinch of salt

Lemon caper olive oil

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoon garlic minced
• zest of ½ lemon
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 2 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice

Sauteed bell peppers

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 bell pepper sliced
• salt and pepper

Ricotta

• 1 cup ricotta
• ¼ cup parmesan grated
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• salt and pepper

Remaining ingredients

• 6 slices crusty bread toasted

Instructions

• Prepare the balsamic walnuts. Combine ½ cup raw walnuts with balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and continue to cook until all of the liquid has evaporated. Transfer the walnuts to parchment paper and let cool completely.
• Make the lemon caper olive oil. Heat ¼ cup olive oil over medium heat. Add 2 teaspoon minced garlic and the zest of ½ lemon and saute for 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and add 2 tablespoon chopped parsley, and 1 tablespoon capers. Let the oil cool slightly and add 2 tablespoon lemon juice.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the sliced bell pepper and saute until softened and browned, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Preheat the broiler.
• Season the ricotta with ¼ cup parmesan, 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, salt, and pepper. Spread the ricotta on 6 slices on toasted crusty bread and place the bread on a baking sheet. Broil the toast for 2-3 minutes or until the ricotta is slightly charred and browned.
• Top the ricotta toast with the sauteed bell peppers, balsamic walnuts, and lemon caper olive oil. Serve warm.

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am the queen of toasts and sandwiches. Yup, I'm not even going to be humble about it. There's just something about stuffing two slices of bread with all kinds of toppings that gets me excited. Perhaps it's because my mom fed me sandwiches during my middle school and high school lunches every day. Thanks, mom!

This charred ricotta toast came to me because I had extra ricotta I needed to use up. I love burrata on bread like on this Brussels sprouts and burrata crostini but ricotta is a close second. Just season ricotta with parmesan, fresh thyme, salt, and pepper, spread it on bread, and broil until slightly charred. If you're using low-fat ricotta, you might want to strain the cheese beforehand to remove excess liquid. Just dump the ricotta into a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth and let it sit for 30 minutes or overnight.

Simmer some walnuts with balsamic vinegar, sugar, and a pinch of salt to make the balsamic walnuts  - you can also make these the day before. I like to make a big batch and sprinkle them on my salad as well.

Saute the bell peppers and heat some olive oil with garlic, lemon zest, parsley, capers, and lemon juice for the lemon caper olive oil. It may seem like a lot of steps but each component is pretty easy to prepare so I urge you to make each topping!

Top the charred ricotta toast with all of the toppings and serve warm. You can enjoy this as a meal or serve them as an appetizer. Either way, they will be gone in seconds because they are just that good. Another toast recipe going in the archive!

For more toast inspiration check out this roasted tomato and burrata toast!