Fancy toasts have been on blogs, in cafes, and pictured on Insta for quite some time. Personally I can’t get enough avocado toasts-smashed avocado with a good sprinkle of chili flakes and squeeze of lemon juice. Another variation of these faWncy(pish-posh accent) toasts is using ricotta cheese. It’s my go-to snack as of lately. Sweet or savory, you’ll be making these for yourself for breakfast or lunch on the go, or for the wee ones after school.
I use the Sweet Ricotta on toast or pancakes! I use the Savory mix on toast, bagels, crostini, even as a dip for carrot and celery sticks!
For the photo pictured, I used Irish Soda Bread(my go-to recipe is the one I learned at Ballymaloe!), Irish honey, and wild blackberries that I foraged down in West Cork.
Here is my quick ‘How-to’ for Whipped Ricotta:
Ingredients:
All you need is about a cup of ricotta cheese
For Sweet Ricotta:
A teaspoon of vanilla (I like to also scrape a tiny bit of the beans out of the pod to add an extra punch of flavor)
Drizzle of honey, agave nectar
Toppings: Berries, coconut shavings, or almond slivers
For Savory Ricotta:
A teaspoon of lemon juice
A teaspoon of thyme leaves (dried is totally fine, but fresh is that bit nicer!)
Sea salt and pepper
Toppings: Tomatoes, green olives, smoked salmon
What to do:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the ricotta until fluffy (just about 4-5 minutes). Remove the bowl from mixer and add either your Sweet or Savory ingredients.
It’s that easy! And there are so many ways to mix up the flavors. I even sometimes smash berries into the Sweet Mix, it creates a cool color effect.
Enjoy!
Cookin' with Carmel 