Roasted Tomatoes and Fresh Ricotta Cheese

The other day, I took a walk at my lunch hour and found myself at the local yoga teaching establishment and juice bar. Tres new age. It was lunch time and I was hungry, so I checked out their take-away counter. They were offering a cibatta bread with ricotta and roasted cherry tomatoes. It was wonderful! It was also expensive.

So I decided I would have to replicate this at home. It wasn't hard, and it was -- if I do say so myself -- every bit the equal of the store bought version. I think this will be a lovely vegetarian choice for a first course at my next fancy dinner party. Or it could be a nice light lunch, with a small salad on the side. Maybe arugula or something with a little pepper to it.

Roasted Tomatoes and Fresh Ricotta Cheese

This recipe makes two filling portions. 

Ingredients

• About ½ cup fresh ricotta cheese
• ½ lemon zest
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon herbs de provence
• salt
• baguette
• olive oil
• butter

Procedure 

1.     Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Wash the tomatoes, and put them on a baking sheet with a raised edge. Sprinkle them with olive oil. You don’t want them to stick to the pan. Then sprinkle them with salt and herbs de provence. Bake them for about 45 minutes, until they are soft and the skins are bursting. Then put them in a covered container and refrigerate until they are cool.

2.     In a small bowl, put the fresh ricotta cheese and the lemon zest. Taste, and add a small amount of salt if you think you need it.

3.     Slice the baguette on the diagonal. Toast until light brown and then very lightly butter the bread.

4.     Put a slice of the toasted bread on a small serving plate. Mound cheese, and then artfully spoon the tomatoes over the cheese. Serve immediately.