First of all I need to apologize. I promised this post FIVE MONTHS AGO and am just finally putting it up. My excuse is exciting though! I’ve been busy cooking, just not food lol … we’ve got a good ole bun in the oven that had me pretty sick for the first trimester and as unbelievably thankful as I was, I couldn’t even THINK about food for quite a while. Anyway, below is the long awaited post. Now that toasts are a thing of the past I give you FOUR of them hahahahaha!
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Let’s be honest you could put pretty much ANYTHING on crispy, carby toast an I’d eat it, and I know we ALL love the extremely popular avocado toast (which I am leaving out because there are more than enough avocado toast recipes and pictures out there to satisfy your needs AND if I see one more, my head might fall off my body) but I have a few toast combos that I think you should introduce to your rotation. Whether it is for an appetizer OR just the best afternoon snack you ever had, these are seriously so good.
Full recipes follow the preview.
1. Anchovy Butter and Radish
2. Gruyère and Green Tomato
3. Olive, Labneh, and Za’atar
4. Roasted Gooseberry, Ricotta, and Fried Rosemary
FULL RECIPES:
Anchovy Butter and Radish on Toast
Before you start running for the hills at the mention of “anchovies”, let me explain: YOU LIKE ANCHOVIES… you just don’t know it yet. The taste is so subtle in this dish and if you weren’t informed of their existence you might not even notice them. So, I urge you to try this before knocking it. It is BY FAR my favorite way to do toast. Ever.
You will need:
5 Tbs butter (at room temperature)
Zest and juice of one lemon (divided)
Salt & Pepper
3 Anchovy filets (finely chopped)
1 bunch of fresh radish (thinly sliced)
1 baguette or loaf cut into thick cut slices and toasted (I suggest a mild bread i.e. French baguette as to not over power the subtlety of the spread).
Fresh parsley or basil for garnish (optional)
First toast your bread in the oven at 425 until golden brown.
Combine butter, lemon zest, salt, pepper, and anchovies until homogenous mixture is achieved.
Spread a thin even layer on each toast and top with a couple radish slices. Squeeze a little lemon juice over each toast just before serving. Garnish with basil or parsley if desired.
Gruyère and Green Tomato
This combo is insane. Something about the fresh, tart green tomatoes that mixes with the nutty, melted gruyère. This one is so simple yet so so good.
You will need:
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Good Gruyère cheese (sliced thin)
Green tomatoes (sliced thin)
1 baguette (sliced thin)
You want to par-bake your toasts before doing anything. Drizzle with a touch of olive oil and bake at 425 until slightly golden.
Top with your Gruyère cheese and continue to bake until completely melted.
Top with tomato slices and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. DIG IN.
Olive, Labneh, and Za’atar
If you have not had Labneh yet you are in for a treat. I have heard it commonly called Lebansese cream cheese but to me it is more like Greek Yogurt. Whatever you call it, it’s delish. If you can’t find it though, any mild cheese/yogurt will work great.
I definitely didn’t reinvent the wheel with this one as it is a very common combination, I just put it on toast instead of the classic flatbread-type dish (Man’oushé) you would usually see. Also, I used parsley in the pictures but I DEFINITELY recommend mint, the stores just didn’t have any good quality stuff on hand.
You will need
Olive oil
Salt
Labneh
Za’atar (A middle Eastern Spice mixture that will blow your mind.)
Sliced Kalamata Olives
Fresh Mint
Good bread. I used a french baguette that I cut lengthwise and into fourths.
First get your bread and Za’atar baking. Evenly coat each slice of bread with olive oil, a little salt, and a general sprinkling of za’atar. Bake at 450 until golden brown and slightly crispy.
Serve alongside your Labneh, olives, and mint. Layer to your preferences and ENJOY!
Roasted Gooseberry, Ricotta, and Fried Rosemary
Alrighty guys. Gooseberries, have you had one? They are super interesting: tart, slightly tomato-y… even floral all at the same time. Really, they’re one of a kind. I decided to roast them and see what happened and they were yummy! If you want a less crazy flavor, I suggest treating cherry tomatoes in the same manner and using them instead.
You will need:
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
A few roasted gooseberries per toast
Fresh rosemary
Good quality ricotta cheese
Chili flake
French baguette thinly sliced
I cook the gooseberries, the rosemary, and the bread all at the same temp to make it easy. Set oven to 450 F.
On one pan place gooseberries and rosemary, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake until rosemary is crispy and gooseberries burst and soften (there is a chance the rosemary will crisp up before the berries are done so take a look periodically and pull the rosemary out if it’s looking crispy and set aside).
On another baking sheet place slices of bread and drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake until golden brown at 450 F.
Once all your oven friends are out you can assemble! Start with a good spread of ricotta, add a few roasted gooseberries, a sprinkle of crispy rosemary, some chili flake, and salt. ENJOY!
Fresh Bread with Good Quality Salted Butter and an Extra Sprinkle of Salt
I had to include what is to me one of the most simple DELICIOUS joys in this world. Doesn’t get much better.