Heritage tomato, oregano & ricotta bruschetta
Nourished Communities and Plate Talks are collaborating on a monthly series of recipes to celebrate delicious produce, home cookery, and local conversations. This is the third in the series.
Tomatoes are something that I associate with mediterranean climates, and so I still can’t believe that we can get such juicy, delicious tomatoes from the Isle of Wight. ‘Heritage’ or ‘Heirloom’ tomatoes are open-pollinated, which means that they are grown from seeds saved from the last crop of tomatoes and that have been passed down through generations. It's possible to grow lots of different shapes and colours if the various seeds are planted close together, and I find it so inspiring to see the brightly coloured varieties shining in the window of Nourished Communities, so I couldn’t resist a fresh tomato recipe. It might seem strange to add red wine vinegar to the tomatoes because they are already acidic, but the vinegar and salt combination really brings out the sweet juices of the tomatoes and it tastes like summer! The slices of bread could also be cut smaller if you wanted to turn this into a canapé sized dish, perfect for a party.
(Serves 4)
Ingredients
For the tomatoes:
6 (mixed sizes) heritage tomatoes
2 tsp flaky sea salt
25ml red wine vinegar
For the bread:
4 slices of sourdough bread, cut in half on a diagonal
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic
For the ricotta:
250g ricotta
5g fresh oregano
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp flaky sea salt
4 grinds of black pepper
To serve:
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp flakey salt
4 grinds of black pepper
5g fresh oregano
Equipment
serrated knife
chopping board
small measuring jug
teaspoon
tablespoon
baking tray lined with baking paper
pepper mill
Method
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees Celsius fan, 400 degrees Fahrenheit, Gas mark 6)
Wash and dry the tomatoes and the oregano well
Using the serrated knife, finely slice all of the tomatoes into rounds and place flat on a plate
Drizzle the tomato slices with the 25ml of red wine vinegar and sprinkle the 2 tsp of flaky sea salt on top, and leave aside
Put the slices of bread on the baking tray and toast in the oven for five minutes, then turn the bread over and toast for another five minutes, until golden
Take the bread out of the oven and leave to cool for five minutes
Meanwhile, roughly chop the 5g of fresh oregano for the ricotta
Put the ricotta, olive oil, roughly chopped oregano, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix well
Peel a clove of garlic and rub the garlic across the toasted slices of bread
Then, drizzle each slice of bread with some of the 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Divide the ricotta mix across the eight bread halves and spread it roughly across each slice
Then add three or four slices of tomato on top of the ricotta on each piece of bread
Top with sea salt, black pepper, and drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil
Finally, pull the individual oregano leaves off their stalks and scatter across the bruschetta
“Nourished Communities is an online farmers market set up to help farmers and local producers during COVID-19. With the closure of Farmers’ Markets, Rollo Millership, who has worked on fruit and vegetable stalls since a teenager, started Nourished Communities at the onset of the coronavirus crisis (March 2020) to support local businesses, producers and farmers whose livelihoods have been affected by the lockdown and also those who didn’t want to miss out on fresh, seasonal produce from farmers’ markets. Nourished Communities brings the finest quality seasonal home-grown produce & products from the English countryside and beyond straight to your door. They began by running out of a pub in Clerkenwell and now thanks to the community spirit and generosity of Coexistence have been able to open a shop in Islington. Just as they were started through giving, Nourished Communities want to give back as much as possible to the community they are part of. They aim to make “ripples and waves” within their community, and to champion and actively do business with people who have a positive impact on the community. Most recently, Rollo and the team have been supporting the @curryclub which sees London chefs (including Meera Sodha, Anna Jones and more) joining forces to cook meals for London's vulnerable, sourcing produce from farms close to London who have been hit by the pandemic. Whilst the Big Issue stopped printing because of Covid they hired, Will, the big issue man from Upper Street to flyer for them. They are involved with numerous food banks across North and East London. and always open to new and creative ideas. If you have any don't hesitate to get in touch with them to make some ripples in our community! The next steps for them are to start a foundation taking children who have been excluded from schools to see the producers and farmers they work with!”