Bruschetta – is there anything better? Chef Giovanni Pilu of Pilu at Freshwater goes one up, adding baked ricotta to the tomato and toast creation. "Ricotta is a lovely, delicate fresh cheese and baking it with herbs adds lots of flavour," he says. "Baking the ricotta also changes its texture, making it a bit firmer. It pairs very well with vine-ripened, blistered tomatoes."-
Giovanni Pilu's herbed ricotta and roasted-tomato bruschetta
That's breakfast – and lunch – sorted.
- Serves 4
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Ingredients
- 50 gm ricotta
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary leaves
- 100 gm (1¼ cups) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 4 thickly cut slices sourdough bread
Roasted tomatoes
- 500 gm cherry truss tomatoes
- 60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing and drizzling
- 1 large garlic clove, bruised
- 1 tsp caster sugar
Method
- 1For roasted tomatoes, preheat oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Place tomatoes in a bowl and toss with oil and garlic. Add sugar and 1 tsp salt, and season to taste with freshly cracked black pepper. Place tomatoes on prepared tray and roast until they begin to collapse and blister (15-20 minutes).
- 2Meanwhile, lightly grease a small baking dish. Combine ricotta in a bowl with herbs, parmesan and zest, and season to taste. Place ricotta mixture in baking dish and smooth over surface. Bake until golden (15-18 minutes). Cool.
- 3To serve, preheat a char-grill pan over high heat. Grill sourdough until lightly charred (1-2 minutes each side). Drizzle with oil, top with baked ricotta and roasted tomatoes and season to taste.
