Ricotta, pear and walnut crostoni with honey and Parmesan

Name: Ricotta, pear and walnut crostoni with honey and Parmesan
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 250 g Ricotta (250 g pot) (1 × 250 g tub, drained if any whey has separated); 40 g Parmesan or Grana Padano (250 g piece) (20 g finely grated into the ricotta, plus 20 g shaved to finish); 240 g Bread (baguette or country loaf) (4 slices of dense country bread, preferably sourdough, 1.5 cm thick (60 g each)); 300 g Pears (2 small ripe but firm pears (300 g whole); discard the cores and stalks, giving 250 g flesh); 40 g Walnut kernels (about 10 whole shelled walnuts, unsalted); 80 g Rocket (1 small bag, washed and thoroughly dried); 120 g Lemon (1 lemon: the zest of one half (2 g) and 23 g juice (10 g for the ricotta, 8 g for the rocket and 5 g for the pears); the peel, pips and remaining juice are not consumed); 25 g Extra virgin olive oil (2½ tbsp: 1½ tbsp (15 g) for the rocket, plus 1 tbsp (10 g) to drizzle over the toast); 15 g Honey (1 level tbsp, drizzled thinly over the four slices); 2.5 g Fine salt (¼ tsp (1.5 g) for the ricotta, plus 1 pinch (1 g) for the rocket); 1 g Black peppercorns (about 10 grinds of the pepper mill, for the ricotta, rocket and finishing); 2 g Fresh thyme (the leaves from 4–5 sprigs)

dairy main dish · Italian · 1/5 · very easy · 25 min, including 25 hands-on

Four large slices of country bread, toasted and drizzled with olive oil, topped with ricotta flavoured with Parmesan and lemon zest, sliced pear, toasted walnuts and Parmesan shavings, finished with a drizzle of honey, freshly ground pepper and thyme; lemon-dressed rocket alongside.

Ingredients for two

250 g	Ricotta (250 g pot) 1 × 250 g tub, drained if any whey has separated
40 g	Parmesan or Grana Padano (250 g piece) 20 g finely grated into the ricotta, plus 20 g shaved to finish
240 g	Bread (baguette or country loaf) 4 slices of dense country bread, preferably sourdough, 1.5 cm thick (60 g each)
300 g	Pears 2 small ripe but firm pears (300 g whole); discard the cores and stalks, giving 250 g flesh
40 g	Walnut kernels about 10 whole shelled walnuts, unsalted
80 g	Rocket 1 small bag, washed and thoroughly dried
120 g	Lemon 1 lemon: the zest of one half (2 g) and 23 g juice (10 g for the ricotta, 8 g for the rocket and 5 g for the pears); the peel, pips and remaining juice are not consumed
25 g	Extra virgin olive oil 2½ tbsp: 1½ tbsp (15 g) for the rocket, plus 1 tbsp (10 g) to drizzle over the toast
15 g	Honey 1 level tbsp, drizzled thinly over the four slices
2.5 g	Fine salt ¼ tsp (1.5 g) for the ricotta, plus 1 pinch (1 g) for the rocket
1 g	Black peppercorns about 10 grinds of the pepper mill, for the ricotta, rocket and finishing
2 g	Fresh thyme the leaves from 4–5 sprigs (optional)

Method

Toast the walnuts: spread them in a dry 28 cm frying pan over a medium heat for 4 minutes, stirring often. They are ready when they smell toasted and their skins darken slightly. Immediately tip onto the chopping board, as they would continue cooking in the pan. Leave to cool for 1 minute, then break roughly with your fingers. Keep the pan if you do not have a toaster.
Wash the lemon. Finely grate the zest of half the lemon (1 level tsp, 2 g), avoiding the white pith, then squeeze it. In a bowl, mash the ricotta with a fork, adding 20 g finely grated Parmesan, the zest, 1.5 g salt (¼ tsp) and 4 or 5 grinds of pepper. Add 10 g juice in two additions, stopping when the mixture is spreadable but holds its shape on the spoon. Taste: it should be distinctly salty and lemony; if necessary, add a small pinch of salt or a little more zest. Use the peeler to shave the remaining 20 g Parmesan.
Make the rocket dressing in the salad bowl, without adding the rocket: mix 8 g lemon juice with the pinch of salt (1 g) until dissolved, then add 15 g olive oil and 2 grinds of pepper and beat with a fork. Do not add the rocket until assembly or it will wilt.
If the bread is not sliced, cut it into 4 slices, 1.5 cm thick and 60 g each. Toast for 1 or 2 cycles in the toaster, or in the dry frying pan over a medium-high heat in two batches of 2 slices, for 2–3 minutes on each side. It is ready when the surface is golden and the edges crisp, while the crumb is still soft in the centre. Lay the slices flat on the board without stacking and immediately drizzle with olive oil, 10 g in total, 1 level tsp per slice.
Cut the pears now, not earlier: wash, quarter lengthways and remove the cores and stalks with the tip of a knife, then cut each quarter lengthways into 3 mm slices. Immediately toss in a bowl with 5 g lemon juice (1 tsp) to prevent browning.
Assemble and serve straight away: spread each slice of toast with one-quarter of the ricotta, arrange the pear slices on top, overlapping, then add the walnuts and Parmesan shavings. Finish each crostone with a thin drizzle of honey (about 4 g), a grind of pepper and a few thyme leaves. Add the rocket to the salad bowl and gently turn it 3 or 4 times with your hands until the leaves glisten without wilting. Put a handful beside each crostone and serve two crostoni per person.

Variants and their steps remain below the recipe.

Lighter version

How the taste changes:

There is less ricotta and fewer Parmesan shavings alongside the same amount of pear, honey and walnuts. Fruity, sweet and toasted notes dominate more on fewer, less generously oiled toasts.

Ricotta (250 g pot) : 190 g
Bread (baguette or country loaf) : 180 g
Parmesan or Grana Padano (250 g piece) : 30 g
Extra virgin olive oil : 20 g

In step 2, mix the 190 g ricotta with 20 g grated Parmesan, and shave only 10 g Parmesan for the finish. Keep the 15 g oil for the rocket salad.

In step 4, toast three 60 g slices of bread and drizzle with 5 g oil in total. In step 6, divide the ricotta cream, pears, walnuts and 10 g Parmesan shavings between the three toasts; divide the 15 g honey equally, 5 g per toast. Serve one and a half crostoni per person with half the rocket.

Three crostoni instead of four, with less ricotta and Parmesan, the same seasoning and honey finish, and all the rocket alongside. The remaining ricotta in the tub (60 g) makes a breakfast with honey.

On your plate

Recipe

933 kcal · protein 31 g · carbs 87 g · fat 49 g

Quantities per person

125 g Ricotta (250 g pot)
20 g Parmesan or Grana Padano (250 g piece)
120 g Bread (baguette or country loaf)
150 g Pears
20 g Walnut kernels
40 g Rocket
60 g Lemon
12.5 g Extra virgin olive oil
7.5 g Honey
1.25 g Fine salt
0.5 g Black peppercorns
1 g Fresh thyme

Cooking tips

The bread makes the dish: choose a dense country loaf, preferably sourdough, and toast just before assembly; fresh untoasted bread becomes soggy under the ricotta within five minutes. Choose pears that slice cleanly, such as Conference or still-firm Williams: overripe pears release too much juice. The honey, Parmesan and pepper are what give these crostoni their flavour, so do not omit them. Pecorino can replace the Parmesan for a bolder flavour, and mint can replace the thyme. Toast the walnuts ahead and keep in a jar for a week; with these ready and a toaster, there is no cooking left to watch. The assembled crostoni do not keep: if the meal is delayed, refrigerate the seasoned ricotta and leave toasting the bread and cutting the pears until the last moment.

Equipment : 28 cm frying pan, toaster (or the frying pan), bowl and fork, salad bowl, knife and chopping board, fine grater, peeler and citrus juicer, pepper mill

The Tuscan and Emilian pairing of pears, cheese and walnuts, pere e formaggio, served on toast as crostoni.

Ricotta, pear and walnut crostoni with honey and Parmesan

Method

Timer

On your plate

Recipe

Cooking tips

Explore this cuisine

Starters to serve with this dish

Three recipes to try next

Comments and reviews

Share your experience