Peperonata, goat’s cheese and ricotta on sourdough
I adore peperonata and nearly always keep some in the fridge, in fact I feel positively bereft if I go to get some and find it’s all gone! It’s a very simple thing to make and has multiple uses…it’s delicious on toast as per the recipe below, but along with a little marinated goat’s cheese, it also makes a lovely omelette filling or pasta sauce.
Serves 4
4 – 8 slices sourdough bread cut about 1cm thick
1 large clove garlic, halved lengthways
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling,
Approx. 350g ricotta
150g goat’s cheese marinated in olive oil and herbs
Oregano or small basil leaves, to garnish
Peperonata:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 red onions, in 1cm dice
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small red chilli, chopped
2 red capsicums (peppers), in 2cm dice
2 really ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato pesto
½ teaspoon sugar
1-2 tablespoons wine vinegar (preferably red)
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
About a tablespoon of shredded oregano or basil
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes until it has softened and become slightly translucent but not brown. Add the garlic and chilli and cook them, stirring, for a couple more minutes. Now increase the heat, tip in the diced capsicum and cook, tossing them about constantly, for a few more minutes. Add the tomato, sun-dried tomato pesto, sugar and 1 tablespoon of vinegar and thoroughly mix it all together. Now reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and cook the mixture until the capsicum is tender – this will take about 12-15 minutes. When it’s ready, taste the peperonata and add a splash more vinegar if it needs it, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the shredded oregano or basil then let the peperonata cool a bit (it always tastes better at room temperature).
Run the sourdough slices under a moderately hot overhead grill, until they’re golden brown on both sides. (You can also cook them on the barbecue if you would like a smokier flavour and those gorgeous grill stripes.) As soon as you remove the toast from the grill, firmly rub one side of each slice with the cut side of a garlic clove, then drizzle the slices with a generous amount of olive oil.
Put the ricotta and goat’s cheese into a bowl and mash them together. Spread each slice of sourdough thickly with the ricotta mixture, then spoon some peperonata on top. Finish off with freshly ground black pepper and a few herb leaves.