Blueberry Toasts With Lemon Ricotta Food

BLUEBERRY LEMON RICOTTA BRUSCHETTA

Steps:

• For the blueberries: Macerate the blueberries by mixing them together with the sugar and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside while you make the ricotta mix and the bruschetta.
• For the lemon ricotta: Add the ricotta, heavy cream, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper to the bowl of a food processor. Mix until the ricotta is smooth and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
• For the crostini: Heat a griddle (or large cast-iron skillet) over medium-high heat. Spread each side of the sliced bread with some butter. Toast the bread on both sides until crisp and golden, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Allow the bread to cool slightly.
• For serving: To assemble, smear a heaping tablespoon of the lemon-ricotta mixture onto a piece of toasted bread. Top with a tablespoon of the macerated blueberries and garnish with a basil leaf. Transfer the bruschetta to a platter and drizzle with the balsamic glaze. Zest the lemon over the platter before serving.

FLUFFY LEMON RICOTTA PANCAKES WITH BLUEBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• For the blueberry sauce: Place the blueberries in a small saucepan. Add 1/2 cup water, then stir in the honey. Heat over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a low boil and the blueberries just start to break apart. Dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tablespoons cold water in a small bowl, then add the slurry to the saucepan and bring the mixture to a rolling boil. Turn the heat down and simmer on low heat until the sauce is nicely thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Set aside until ready to serve. (See Cook's Note.)
• For the pancakes: Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
• Whisk together the ricotta, milk, vanilla, eggs and lemon zest and juice in a separate medium bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.
• Preheat the oven to 175 degrees F.
• Heat about a tablespoon each vegetable oil and butter in a large nonstick skillet (I prefer cast-iron) over medium heat. When the butter is foamy, reduce the heat to medium-low and ladle a heaping 1/4 cup pancake batter into the skillet. Repeat to make 2 more pancakes. Cook until bubbles start to form in the batter and the pancakes are golden underneath, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook the other sides until golden, another 3 minutes. Place the finished pancakes on a sheet tray and hold the oven while you finish cooking the remaining batter, adding more oil and butter as necessary. Serve warm with the blueberry sauce.

BLUEBERRY TOASTS WITH LEMON RICOTTA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cut baguette into slices. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes until light brown and toasted.
• Mix lemon juice and ricotta together in a bowl. Spread ricotta over each toast and top with blueberries, almonds and a sprinkle of lemon zest.

KIDS CAN MAKE: RICOTTA, BLUEBERRY AND GRAPE TOASTS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet, and toast until lightly browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes; transfer to a small bowl, and set aside.
• Toss the grapes, blueberries, honey and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Stir together the ricotta and lemon zest in a small bowl.
• Dividing evenly, spread the 4 baguette halves with the butter. Transfer to the rimmed baking sheet, and toast until lightly browned and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Sprinkle the toasted halves with a pinch of salt and a bit of pepper, and spread each with 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture. Put each half on an individual serving plate, drizzle with honey, top with a generous 1/4 cup of the fruit mixture and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the toasted almonds. Serve with more honey on the side.

BLUEBERRY-RICOTTA STUFFED EBELSKIVERS

Steps:

• For the filling: Mix together the ricotta, honey and lemon zest in a small bowl until well combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• For the pancakes: Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
• Whisk together the milk, sour cream, egg yolks and lemon zest in another medium bowl. Whisk the yolk mixture into the flour mixture until just combined (the batter will be lumpy). Allow the batter to rest while you whip the egg whites.
• Beat the egg whites in a separate medium bowl with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, about 1 minute. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
• Heat an ebelskiver pan over medium heat for 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low and brush 4 of the wells generously with melted butter so there is some butter pooling at the bottom of each (the butter should barely sizzle when it hits the pan). Fill each buttered well with about 1 tablespoon batter. Repeat with the butter and batter in the remaining 4 wells. (You are working in batches to prevent the butter from burning.) Allow the batter to cook slightly around the edges, about 30 seconds.
• Carefully spoon about 1 teaspoon of the ricotta filling into the center of each ebelskiver, then press 2 blueberries (or just 1 if large) into the center. Spoon about 1 tablespoon additional batter on top of the blueberries so the wells are very full. Cook until the bottom crusts are golden brown, an additional 2 1/2 minutes.
• Push a wooden skewer through the raw batter and into the bottom crust of each ebelskiver to turn it slowly. Allow the raw batter to flow back into the well and create a new bottom crust. (If an ebelskiver does not slide up easily or hold its shape, slide it back to its original position and give it more time to cook and set.) Cook until the new undersides are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes more. Check all sides of the ebelskivers: If there are pale spots on some, turn them pale-side down so they brown against the bottom of the pan for a few seconds. When they are done, the ebelskivers should be deep golden brown all over and a skewer inserted deep into the pancakes, avoiding the filling, should come out clean. If you find that some are cooking much more quickly than others, rotate the pan occasionally to even out the heat. Remove the ebelskivers from the pan.
• Repeat the process with the remaining melted butter, batter, filling and blueberries to make 6 more ebelskivers. By the second batch, the pan will be significantly hotter, so you may need to reduce the heat or remove the pan from the heat occasionally to ensure even cooking. Dust the ebelskivers with confectioners' sugar and serve warm drizzled with honey.