Last week, while packing away a few cookbooks, an old newspaper clipping tucked between two books slipped off the shelf and swooped into my lap, opening as it landed to reveal a photograph of a mouth-watering spread: a bowl filled with herb-and-olive oil topped ricotta, a few slices of grilled bread, and a handful of halved black mission figs. A quick glance through the article led me to discover that this appetizer, described as “stupid simple” by the chef of A Voce at the time (2008) was the most popular appetizer on the menu. With the task at hand long forgotten — I’ve always been a hopeless packer — I made my way to the kitchen, hoping to find cheesecloth and heavy cream, making ricotta the order of the hour. And thirty minutes later, the stupid simple appetizer had materialized: creamy curds seasoned with sea salt, fresh thyme, dried oregano, and a drizzling of olive oil. Now, I know the last thing many of you need is yet another reminder of the delicacy that is fresh ricotta, but, as recipes don’t just fall into my lap every day, I’m going to take the risk of boring some of you hoping that many of you might appreciate a little refresher. I certainly did. You see, I had forgotten how well fresh ricotta pairs with grilled bread — there’s something about the combination of cool and creamy with smoky and charred. And I had forgotten how much flavor a halved clove of garlic imparts when gently rubbed across the surface of slices of toasty bread. And I had never thought to season ricotta with fresh thyme, always favoring basil or chives or other more obvious summer herbs. And I never thought that fresh ricotta could benefit from the addition of more fat: a drizzling of olive oil. But, all of these little embellishments go a long way, and if you’ve never tried any of them or haven’t yet tried making homemade ricotta, ’tis the season. Fire up your grill; pull out the cheesecloth; pick some herbs — stupid simple will never taste so good.
5 from 1 review Notes: Use this recipe as a guide. I had made fresh ricotta and so did not use any milk, so based on the texture of the ricotta you make or buy, use your judgement re using milk — you might not need any either. Also, I loved the flavor of the fresh thyme, but use whatever herbs you like best or have on hand. 4.8 from 5 reviews Salt: If you are using Morton Kosher salt or sea salt, use 3/4 teaspoon. Milk and Cream: If you can find milk and cream that is not “ultra-pasteurized”, buy them. I never can find non “ultra-pasteurized” heavy cream but it doesn’t seem to matter.
