Crunching into hot, heavily buttered toast surpasses other supposedly aspirational food experiences imo, including foie gras, abalone and any afternoon tea, anywhere. Toast, though. Unbeatable. A thick, well-crusted slice from a handmade loaf is what it’s all about, preferably sourdough. While a sourdough loaf is annoying for a sandwich - jabbing itself into the corners of your mouth like a bad kisser - it makes sublime toast. What I’m saying is that toast reliably performs. Toast always hits target. This is why, today, we are giving toast a promotion. There was a trend around 10 years ago for topping ricotta-laden toast with honey and calling it breakfast. I first tried this on a trip to Australia where they love this kind of brunchy arrangement and when I returned to the UK it was everywhere. Now, it’s par for the course alongside avocado, 6-minute eggs and ‘everything bagel’ seasoning. Today I’m sharing a riff on this using caramel-candy dates and fluffy dunes of the milky people-pleaser that is ricotta cheese. It is a heavenly combination. The luscious, sticky date butter pooled on top of the ricotta, plus oily, fragrant lemon zest and a wee sprinkle of za’atar. Sweet, salty and rich, which we all know is the most addictive trio. Eating this for breakfast or lunch feels luxurious and exciting, like turning left to business, or slipping into new bedsheets. It’s familiar, yet fresh. Simple, yet sexy. It’s also my new breakfast for the foreseeable.
Some other ways to use the butter:
Ricotta Toasts with Salted Date Butter Date syrup is available on Ocado, in Holland & Barrett and from Middle Eastern or Turkish grocers. If you can’t get it, use maple syrup and add another chopped date to the date butter recipe below. 4 slices sourdough bread, toasted Date Butter Place the butter, date syrup and chopped date into a small saucepan and melt gently. Stir it, breaking up the date pieces until you have a dark brown, gooey butter. Once your toast has cooled a little, spread each piece with a thick layer of fluffy ricotta. Drizzle the butter over the ricotta, add a few drops of lemon juice to each toast and a grating of zest. Sprinkle on the za’atar, pul biber and a small extra sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
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Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Flavour nugget #13: ricotta toasts with salted date butter
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