A Toast to Quarantine Cooking
With quarantine came what I like to call “the carb diet,” which consists of eating a lot of pasta, a lot of rice, and a lot of bread (for the record, I am not complaining). I’ve found a renewed love of carbs these past few months, with one of the reasons being its versatility. Since I’m making less frequent trips to the grocery store, I’m often left strategizing what to eat for my next meal, ensuring that nothing’s left to spoil in the back corner of my fridge. To this end, toast comes in handy as a carby vehicle for any mood.
Here is my ode to toasts. These three recipes are easy to put together and delicious enough to feel like a fulfilling meal, whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
This recipe was published in The At Home Issue of Life & Thyme Post, our quarterly newspaper shipping exclusively to L&T members. Get your copy.
Ingredients
- 2 1-inch slices of a country loaf (or any other rustic, quality bread)
- 1 clove of garlic, grated
- 5 tbsp. room temperature unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup of chives, chopped in ½-inch pieces
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- 1 juicy tomato
- Splash of white wine vinegar
- Flaky sea salt
- Freshly-ground pepper
Missing ingredients? We got you.
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Chive Butter Toast with Perfect Tomatoes
Yield: 4 toasts
Method
- Put slices of bread in the toaster until nicely golden brown.
- In a small bowl, grate a clove of garlic and add butter, ¼ teaspoon of salt, a few cranks of black pepper, and ¾ of the chopped chives. Mix well until incorporated and set aside.
- Thinly slice the tomato, and set aside.
- Once toast is ready, generously smear chive compound butter on each slice.
- Place two slices of tomato on each toast, and drizzle a splash of white wine vinegar on each piece of toast.
- Top toast with remaining chives, flaky salt, and a few more grinds of pepper.
Ingredients
- 2 1-inch slices of a country loaf (or any other rustic, quality bread)
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic
- 8 pieces of thinly-sliced sopressata
- 1 tbsp. chopped calabrian chile (less if you want it less spicy) or 1 tsp. of red pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp. honey
- 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup of good quality ricotta
- Salt
- Pepper
- Basil for garnish
Missing ingredients? We got you.
Find and support independent producers, farmers and purveyors in your local area with our crowdsourced directory, Supply Home Cooks.
Fried Sopressata Toasts
Yield: 4 toasts
Method
- Put two tablespoons of olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Let the pan heat up until the oil is a bit shimmery in the pan.
- Add bread pieces in the pan. Let toast in the pan for 2 to 3 minutes on both sides until golden brown. Bread should release easily from the pan. If it doesn’t, it’s not ready. If all pieces don’t fit in the pan, toast a few at a time, adding more olive oil as needed.
- Remove bread from the pan. Rub each piece of the toast with the clove of garlic and set aside on a plate.
- In the same pan, with the residual oil add the sopressata slices; let sizzle until nice and crispy on both sides. This should take about 2 minutes per batch of sopressata. Remove from heat onto a paper towel-lined plate. Note that the sopressata may not seem crispy when hot, but as it cools it will become crisp.
- Turn the heat to low. Add a tablespoon of chopped calabrian chile and let sizzle in the pan for a few seconds before adding the tablespoon of honey and teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. Mix together and let sizzle together for a minute. Remove from heat.
- Slather each piece of toast with good quality ricotta. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Crumble the fried sopressata onto the toasts. Drizzle hot honey over the toasts, and top with torn basil.
Ingredients
- A baguette, sliced diagonally, in about 1-inch thick pieces
- ¼ cup of olive oil, divided
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 20 asparagus, about 2 cups cut into half-inch coins, leaving the tops whole
- 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 anchovies, minced
- ½ cup of frozen peas
- ¼ cup of torn mint
- 1 cup of quality ricotta
- Kosher salt
- Freshly-ground pepper
Missing ingredients? We got you.
Find and support independent producers, farmers and purveyors in your local area with our crowdsourced directory, Supply Home Cooks.
Asparagus and Pea Ricotta Toast
Yield: Serves 4 to 6 people
Method
- Heat the oven to 400℉. Place bread in a sheet pan, and cover with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss to cover each piece.
- Spread the bread in an even layer and put in the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside on a plate.
- In a small bowl, add lemon zest, juice, and sliced shallots. Let it sit, and set aside.
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, place 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan until nice and hot.
- Add asparagus, garlic and anchovies and cook over high heat. You want the asparagus to begin to char. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- After 2 to 3 minutes, add the peas. Cook together for another 1 to 2 minutes until the peas are warmed through. Remove from heat.
- Add the bowl of lemon and shallots to the skillet; stir together to combine. Season more to taste.
- Spread a tablespoon of ricotta on each piece of toast, then season with salt and pepper.
- Add the asparagus mixture on top of the toasts. Drizzle with olive oil if you’d like.
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