Smoky sweet peppers and mellow roasted garlic on crisp toasts.
Serves 4 | Preparation: 25 minutes | Cooking: 48 minutes | Total: 83 minutes
Times include any chilling, resting or cooling stated below. Oven temperatures are conventional; reduce by 20°C for a fan oven.
Ingredients
4 red peppers
1 whole garlic bulb
1 baguette, sliced into 16 rounds
150 g ricotta or cream cheese
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp red wine vinegar
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp fresh basil or parsley leaves
Method
Heat the oven to 220°C. Roast the whole peppers, and the garlic bulb with its top sliced off and drizzled with oil, until the pepper skins blacken and blister, about 40 minutes.
Seal the peppers in a bowl covered with a plate for 10 minutes, then peel, deseed and slice into strips. Toss with 2 tbsp oil, the vinegar and salt.
Squeeze the soft garlic from its skins and mash it into the ricotta with a pinch of salt.
Brush the bread rounds with the remaining oil and toast in the oven until crisp and golden, about 8 minutes.
Spread the garlic ricotta on the toasts, top with pepper strips and herbs and serve.
Variations and substitutions
Roast the peppers a day ahead and refrigerate promptly in a covered container; do not store home-preserved peppers or garlic at room temperature. Use a plant-based spread for a vegan version.
For a vegetarian dish, choose cheese labelled suitable for vegetarians and check any other packaged ingredients.
Homegrown and seasonal produce
Late peppers can be roasted while fresh, then chilled for use the following day. Frozen pepper strips are useful in cooked dishes, but fresh peppers peel more neatly here.
Storage and freezing
Keep prepared ingredients covered in the fridge at 5°C or below. Eat within 48 hours, or within 24 hours for the raspberry fool and dressed tomato mixture. Assemble toasts just before serving. These finished salads, topped toasts and cream desserts do not freeze well; freeze suitable fruit or roasted vegetables separately instead.
Explore our growing guides and From Garden to Kitchen guide. Plan your next harvest with Your Growing Companion.
Stock photograph illustrating the ingredients or a serving idea.
