TOASTY BITS FOR FRIENDS
WITH WHIPPED RICOTTA, LEMON AND CRISPY SAGE & JAMMY SHALLOTS, COLD BUTTER AND ANCHOVY
Hi and welcome back to COME FOR SUPPER
This week I bring you two very good toasty bits. I am a longtime lover of a canapé. I love the frill and enjoy the faff but I know not everyone does. And thats fine! I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t also a fan of a big bowl of crisps or jar of olives. But my non-negotiable when having people over is to offer a little something to eat when they arrive. Ideally this will be alongside something cold to drink. For me this is a martini and I keep my vodka in the freezer but a good friend once told me that she always has a bottle of champagne or Prosecco in her fridge ‘just in case’. It is advice I have taken on board and even on the days that I am bypassing the bubbles to reach for the yogurt or mustard it brings me great joy and satisfaction to know that there will always be a cold glass of fizz at a moments notice. Despite being in my mid-thirties I still get a massive thrill of anything that feels remotely grown up and this makes me feel very grown up!
Note: This post contains a lot of pictures which means it may appear clipped in an email. If you’re struggling to view it press VIEW IN BROWSER at the top right of the email and you’ll see it in one.
There is a scene in Julie and Julia (one of the best ‘food films’ out there in my opinion) where Julie (played by Amy Adams) cooks supper for herself and her husband. She makes a simple bruschetta of tomatoes, garlic and basil. The camera follows the journey of olive oil soaked bread frying and turning golden on the grill as Julie chops tomatoes. Then the scene cuts to Julie and her husband crunching with great gusto onto the toast now piled high with juicy tomatoes glistening in their own garlicky infused juices and olive oil. ‘This is so good’ her husband proclaims, ‘this is SO good’. It is during this moment that Julie is also inspired to start her food blog and decides to cook her way through all of the recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering The Art Of French Cooking.
It is a scene that depicts the delicious joy of eating brilliantly and almost every time I watch it I find a way to make tomato bruschetta that week. It’s this moorish, lip-smacking joy that I want my guests to have when they come to my house for supper. And the recipes required to achieve this, as is so wonderfully displayed in that scene in Julie and Julie, rarely need to be complicated.
If you’re new here, scroll down to find the written recipes and scroll ALL the way down for the printable PDF where you’ll also find some MUSIC TO COOK TO. This one is for all subscribers but if you enjoy this post and would like access to all posts and my FULL recipe archive do consider becoming a paid subscriber. If that’s you already, thank you!! Your support goes right back into my work developing recipes, shooting videos, and writing about all of it.
THE RECIPES
The recipes for FOCACCIA WITH WHIPPED RICOTTA, LEMON AND CRISPY SAGE and FOCACCIA WITH JAMMY SHALLOTS, COLD BUTTER AND ANCHOVY are simple and they are also delicious! You can use sourdough or baguette if you like but I love the squishy bubble of focaccia and find it easier to cut even pieces too.
CHARRED FOCACCIA WITH LEMON WHIPPED RICOTTA AND CRISPY SAGE
Serves 6-8
1 small loaf of focaccia
1 handful of sage
Olive oil
200g ricotta
1 lemon
1 small garlic clove
Salt
I like the crisp up the sage first. Separate the leaves from the stems and heat about 100ml of olive oil in a frying pan (just enough to cover the base). Add one sage leaf with the oil and once it begins to sizzle add the rest. Fry until the leaves and darkened and crisped, then transfer to a kitchen towel lined plate to drain.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk the ricotta with a good pinch of salt, the zest of the lemon finely grated and just ½ the garlic clove. (Keep the remaining halve to rub over the focaccia).
Slice the focaccia in half through the middle as though you were making a sandwich. Paint over the bubbly fluffy side with olive oil using a pastry brush. Heat a griddle or frying pan over a medium heat whilst you cut the focaccia into thick soldiers roughly 3cm x 7cm. Cook the focaccia soldiers olive oil side down for about 3-4 mins until they are slightly charred. Rub the pieces with the halved garlic clove as they come off the pan and allow to cool slightly.
Spread the focaccia soldiers with the ricotta, Season with salt, top with the sage leaves. Drizzle over some more olive oil and zest over more fresh lemon zest if you like.
CHARRED FOCACCIA WITH SHERRY VINEGAR SHALLOTS, COLD BUTTER AND ANCHOVIES
It was Russell Norman who first introduced me to the joy of anchovies on toast with cold butter. They key being the butter MUST be cold and must be salted. One of my favourite restaurants in London, Elliots make their anchovy toast with slow cooked onions and serve theirs on fat squares of their bubbly focaccia. It is wonderful and I remember upon first trying it that I immediately bought a loaf of focaccia, some shallots, anchovies and butter to recreate at home. I love the slight tang of sherry vinegar and the agro dolce (sweet sour) note it brings to shallots. I add sherry vinegar to tomato sauces, marinades and dressings too. It has less of a punch in the face acidity than white or red wine vinegar. I love this one from Belazu.
Serves 4-6
6 large banana shallots
Olive oil
A good slosh of sherry vinegar
Half a loaf of focaccia
About 60g cold salted butter
1 tin of good quality anchovies
Halve the shallots and peel away their skins before finely slicing. Heat roughly 4tbsp olive oil in a small frying pan and add the shallots. Cook over the lowest heat possible for around 10 mins until the are soft and golden. Remove from the heat and add a slosh of sherry vinegar. Allow to cool.
Slice the focaccia in half through the middle as though you were making a sandwich. Paint over the bubbly fluffy side with olive oil using a pastry brush. Heat a griddle or frying pan over a medium heat whilst you cut the focaccia into thick soldiers roughly 3cm x 7cm. Cook the focaccia soldiers olive oil side down for about 3-4 mins until they are slightly charred. Allow them to cool slightly.
Top the focaccia with the shallots. Then use a knife or a cheese slicer to slice thin pieces of the cold salted butter. Layer over each one with an anchovy and serve.
Some of you might know that I just launched a collection with PINK CITY PRINTS. It has been in the works for a while and been wonderful to see it come to life. The collection is inspired by picnics and the British seaside, two things I love. There are tablecloths and napkins, cocktail napkins (my favourite) and even a few dresses. If you’re interested, I’ve linked the collection here.
MUSIC TO COOK TO
Life’s A Beach | HARD LIFE
Vocalist Murray Matravers formed the easygoing British hip-hop troupe Hard Life (formerly known as Easy Life) in 2017 with his sax- and bass-playing classmate Sam Hewitt. It’s easy listening hip-hop with good melody and excellent lyrics. Easy Life (the name which I still often refer to when thinking of the band) changed their name to Hard Life after a threat of legal action by the airline EasyJet. This is the album I listen too but another favourite track is Sangria which they released with Arlo Parks in 2019. It’s sexy and summery and very good music to cook to.
Thanks for reading and see you next week
x💋x💋
Loving the Toasty Bits. I call them Substantial Snacks and they are an event in themselves - when I announce that it's drinks with Substantial Snacks, people know they're not going to get plates of supper but that they're not going to starve either. So no pre- or post-loading necessary