So once you have your homemade ricotta, the next question is: what to do with it?
Me, I decided to be ultra-spontaneous. Well mostly spontaneous. On Saturday, I bought a nice loaf of bread, made the ricotta, left it overnight in the refrigerator to drain. Then, on Sunday, with dinner guests coming at 5:30, I opened up my CSA box in the morning to see what was in there. Whatever I found, I’d make up some kind of bruschetta. Lo and behold, I found…
…yellow peppers and green garlic.
Here’s why I did: I cranked the oven up to 500, put the yellow peppers on a cookie sheet and coated them in olive oil and sprinkled them with salt.
Then I put them in that scorching hot oven and waited. There were some loud hisses, a few pops; smoke began billowing out at one point because I think the juice from a yellow pepper hit the bottom of the oven somewhere. But it was worth it because look how nice and charred they got in there:
There are other ways to do this: in the broiler, for one. Or on an open flame, if you like a little danger in your cooking.
You want to take them pretty far, though. The blacker the skin, the better. You’ll know they’re done when the peppers are limp when you squeeze them with tongs. At that point, I put them into a brown paper bag which I quickly folded shut so they could steam for a bit.
Then, on to a cutting board.
Use a knife to scrape off the skin (you can also use paper towels; it should slip right off). Then cut open the top, scape off the seeds, and slice or tear the pepper into strips. Meanwhile, in a shallow dish, add some sliced garlic–I used the green garlic from the CSA–and a generous pour of olive oil. Oh and some capers too. When you’re done with your peppers, submerge them in the mixture.
If you’re using them in the next hour or so, just cover with plastic and set aside. If you’re making them ahead, you can refrigerate for several days.
As for the rest of the bruschetta, it’s easy. Slice a nice sourdough loaf thickly (don’t use pre-sliced bread; those slices are too thin) and then broil until charred on both sides.
Have your friend Patty (yes, it’s Patty! she’s visiting) pour some fancy McEvoy Ranch olive oil on to the charred bread:
Then mound on some homemade ricotta (be generous) and some of the roasted peppers, spooning the garlicky oil on top.
How’s that for a stunning appetizer? Make some homemade ricotta and whip something up like this in no time. Everyone will be very happy, I promise.
Mmmmm I haven’t made homemade ricotta in ages. Definitely time to start again!
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Love it! Have you tried roasted grapes? I bet that would be great here, too.
That is stunning! I didn’t get into it until the last picture or two, but I’d pay lots of money for that bruchetta at Bar La Grassa, the best place for bruchetta in the midwest (in my humble opinion). Question: do you get ingredients and google for ideas, or look up ingredients in cookbooks? If you look in a CSA box and know what to make outta your head, you’ve got a great mental archive. I read a ton of cookbooks, and a few select blogs, and now and again my head has it, but usually google “ingredient + “blog”” is my go-to.
Hi Meghan, glad you were won over. That particular idea came from watching Lidia Bastianich’s show on Hulu; it’s my favorite cooking show, these days, and her technique for roasting peppers stayed with me when I opened that box. I thought, “Oh, roasted peppers would taste nice on that ricotta” and that’s how the bruschetta idea was born!
Nice! Lidia Basitanich is SO inspiring, and I can totally see having something from her show in my mental storehouse. After watching many episodes, while in the basement gym, I pinned her pasta dough on pinterest, and it is frequently re-pinned. There is something so great about having an expert actually cook in front of you (you are lucky, for you, some of it has been in person) but on tv, that impression! You never forget how to roast a pepper, make an omelet (Jaques Pepin), host a hundred different parties with half purchased, half homemade (Ina), etc. These people are so inspiring. As you are! I’ve never even watched your podcasts yet! I’ll be adding to the Adam Roberts attribution list which already includes broccoli, smashed potatoes and numerous other dishes my friends love. :)
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This looks so good! Can’t wait to try this. Thanks
When peppers are in season and cheap, buy a huge bunch and take them to a roadside place where they are roasting chile peppers. Pay them to roast them really black. take home, peel them, cut in slices, and lay flat in freezer bags (don’t just dump them in, you’ll have to thaw too many). You’ll have a nice stack of roasted peppers in your freezer and can break them off a piece at a time if that’s all you need. Of course I do the same thing with Anaheim peppers. Mormons are taught to have a two year supply of food and water. This is my idea of essential staples.
I have not made Ricotta but I have made yogurt and I think the slight tang of the yogurt would work well with the sweet of the peppers and that rich garlic taste.
Beautiful! I am the crostini queen, and this homemade ricotta looks amazing!
This looks like a dinner party! Any plans to bring back the podcast?
Not yet, but perhaps down the road!
That looks Delicious! Thanks for the paper bag trick to help steam them along. I’ve always made my Bruchetta with thinner slices so I will have to give the thick ones a try.
It may help to suggest that the ricotta should be made with whole milk — even pasteurized is OK, as long as it’s not Ultra High Temp. (UHT).
Yum!! I love bruschetta…awesome flavors. :)