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Whipped ricotta toast with deep red, fresh cherries tossed in balsamic vinegar and scattered with some chopped basil leaves. So pretty, so easy and so delicious!
I love pretty things, don’t you? When food looks pretty it has to taste just as good as it looks and this whipped ricotta toast with balsamic cherries it just that. It couldn’t be easier to make (which I love as always) and tastes incredible. Why have I never tried cherries with balsamic vinegar before!?
I stumbled across a few recipes recently for cherry and goats cheese crostini. As delicious as it sounds I’ve totally overindulged in goats cheese recently. I mean I love it, especially a tangy, crumbly one with salty prosciutto crudo on crackers but you know when you just have too much of one thing? Well, that’s been me with goats cheese recently.
The cherries however, looked absolutely gorgeous with their deep ruby red colour against the white, creamy cheese. I knew I wanted to recreate this somehow…step in the whipped ricotta.
How to make whipped ricotta
Whipped ricotta is basically just ricotta cheese whipped in a food processor for a few seconds until it’s thick, creamy and velvety soft. I love it like this especially with a little lemon zest, it’s perfect for sweet or savoury dishes and goes perfectly with the balsamic cherries.
The whipped ricotta is spread on some char grilled toasts. I love to cut thick slices to crusty bread, brush them with a little olive oil and place them on a hot griddle pan until toasted on each side. I do this for all crostini, bruschetta and toast recipes. I love the flavour of the charred grill marks and the peppery olive oil.
To make the balsamic cherries it’s very simple. Cut the cherries in half and remove the stone and stalk. Add them to a bowl with a little balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and toss to coat them. That’s it, all that’s left to do is assemble the whipped ricotta toasts. Spread a layer of the whipped ricotta over the toasts then top with cherries, finally add a little scattering a finely chopped basil and serve. Enjoy for a light lunch, snack or aperitivo.
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Whipped Ricotta Toast with Balsamic Cherries
Ingredients
- 8.8 oz (250g) cherries
- 8.8 oz (250g) ricotta
- zest of 1/4 lemon
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 small bunch basil, , finely chopped
- 4 slices of ciabatta bread
- 1 tsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Brush each side of the bread with a little oil then place on a hot griddle pan until toasted on each side, there should be nice char marks on the bread.
- Cut the cherries in half and remove the stones and stalks. Add to a bowl with the balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss to combine and set aside.
- To make the whipped ricotta, add the ricotta to a food processor with the lemon zest and a pinch of salt and pepper. Blend for a couple seconds until smooth and creamy.
- Spread the toast generously with ricotta and top with cherries. Finally, scatter over some finely chopped basil and serve.
Notes
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
It’s December, so I used pomegranate seeds instead of cherries. Added a little orange zest to the balsamic but kept everything else the same. Delicious.
This sounds amazing! I’ve never had balsamic with cherries, but I love both! The perfect summer appetizer with a glass of wine! 🙂
OMG..this recipe is so so pretty! I could eat this for dessert too. So easy to prepare.
It’s SO easy and yeah, great idea it could totally be dessert. Thanks so much!