Words and photos by Susie Sandford Smith

A version of this post first appeared on ACHS 2020

Sometimes the simplest things really are the most effective. At my supper club I usually serve guests a little something to nibble on as they drink their welcome drink before they sit down to eat and things on toast always go down a treat. They are SO simple and yet, they seem fancy. I hesitate to call these recipes as they’re more…ideas, but do use them to springboard your imagination.

Ingredients

1 tub ricotta

1 apple, green or red/pink skin (I like pink)

1 lemon

1 quantity pesto (seen here, carrot top)

A handful of grapes

A little parmesan to garnish

Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

Extra virgin olive oil

Honey

A baguette or focaccia or ciabatta – something that toasts to a light crunch

Method

At it’s very very simplest

• Slice your baguette and lightly toast on each side. Allow to cool. Slather with ricotta and top with thin slices of apple, a drizzle of olive oil and an even bigger one of honey. Add a pinch of sea salt flakes and a twist of black pepper and you’re done. Maybe add a tiny bit of grated lemon zest (invest in a zester; little strips of lemon zest make anything look, and taste, good).

• As above but top with pesto, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with lemon zest or shavings of parmesan.

• As step one but top with roasted grapes, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with lemon zest.

All of the above would benefit from a little squeeze of lemon.

If you want to get a little more fancy, and really there’s no need, simply stir some of those flavours into the ricotta before spreading on the toasted baguette. In other words, mix in some lemon and some zest, crack in a load of black pepper, even some oil. And then top as above. If you’ve mixed lemon juice into the ricotta you might then want to leave it off the topping.