Whipped Ricotta With Honey, Pistachios And Figs On Toast 

This ricotta honey toast with pistachios and figs has protein from the pistachios and ricotta, along with fiber from the figs, making this a go-to when you want something healthy and a little sweet. Quick enough for a daily meal, but impressive enough to wow your guests for brunch or appetizers!

Where I live on the East Coast, fig season is typically late summer through early October. At least that is when my dad’s fig trees would bear fruit. I remember walking through the garden with him, and eating figs right off the tree, the skin warmed by the sun and the plump figs so sweet and earthy in taste. Figs have always been a staple in my family over the years and through the generations, like many Italian American and Mediterranean-American families. Many of the trees we see today in cities are from relatives who brought fig plants to America in their luggage, capturing a little piece of home in their new country. My dad used to tell me stories of being a teenager in Astoria, Queens, New York, playing card games with his friends in the backyard until the early hours of the morning, reaching back and eating fresh juicy figs right off the tree. I wasn’t there, yet this story has been told so many times that I can practically feel the hot summer night and taste the ripe, sweet fruit.

My grandmother’s house in Queens also had a big fig tree that gave her tiny city apartment so much shade and greenery. It always amazed me that this postage stamp of a backyard, with an alley to the front of the house, and where I could hear baseball games being played at Shea Stadium in summer, also felt like an oasis from the noise and crowds of the city. My great aunt Tessie, my grandma’s sister who lived in California, would make us homemade fig jam. That was delicious.

To me, figs are so special. Maybe because of my personal connection, or maybe because they are this little ancient fruit with such a short-lived season, and I don’t feel like I come across recipes with them all that often.
Except for maybe the hip wine bar on the corner who puts them on pizza. 😉 I find figs to be a special treat and a reminder to stop and savor their short, sweet season that never fails to bring me back to childhood summer and early fall memories. I hope you enjoy this super quick and tasty ricotta toast! If you try it out, let me know in the comments!

For this ricotta and honey toast recipe, you will need:

-2 slices of crusty bread or bread of your choice
-1/2 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
-2 tablespoons roasted pistachios
-2 teaspoons to a tablespoon of good quality honey (I used a local raw honey. Add more or less to taste.)
-A few fresh figs and/or other berries of choice
-A tablespoon-ish of olive oil (You’ll come to learn I have a hard time measuring the liquid gold. I call it “grandma measuring” because that’s what it feels like: pinch of this, ish of that, you get the idea.)

This recipe should make two hearty slices of a sourdough-size bakery slice of bread. Double the recipe for more people or the number of toasts you’d like to make. You can save leftovers in the fridge and enjoy them the next day, chilled. Surprisingly tasty!

Modifications and Suggestions

What is nice about this recipe is that there is room for modifications. For example, do you have a bit more time? Grill the bread in a pan with olive oil. Less time or just not in the mood to get a pan dirty? Toast the bread in the toaster and drizzle olive oil on after.

For the whipped ricotta: Feeling extra? Get out the hand mixer to actually whip the ricotta for 2 minutes. It will be fluffy and light and so creamy. In a rush? Use a fork or whisk and “scramble egg”-style the ricotta, beating it for a minute or so—it will still be plenty creamy (especially if you use whole milk ricotta) and delicious, you can’t tell me otherwise! If you do bring out the mixer, I recommend you double the recipe and whip a full cup of ricotta at one time, saving the rest for later. Use pre-roasted pistachios to save time shelling and roasting your own.

Step 1
Grill or toast your bread. When grilling, heat up your pan to a medium/medium-low heat and drizzle about a tablespoon or two of good quality extra virgin olive oil into your pan once it gets a bit warm. Then put your slices on the pan and grill—about 5 minutes or so on each side. Check periodically to make sure the bread isn’t burning, and you can put a light drizzle of oil on the bread again if needed. You are going for a “grilled cheese bread” sort of look and feel here.

Step 2
While the bread is toasting or grilling in your pan, whip your ricotta however you choose, then crush your pistachios. I put them in a reusable Stasher bag and used a rolling pin to crush them. It’s okay if they are rustic, you don’t need to crush them all nor have them be really fine, you want them to still have crunch and body to them. A few rolls should do it. Add the pistachios to the ricotta and mix well.

Step 4
Spread ricotta mixture onto your grilled bread, drizzle your honey on top of each slice with a pinch of salt to taste and slice up your fresh figs on top or leave to the side and let your guests decide if they want to do figs on toast or on the side. The pistachio and ricotta honey toast is delicious on its own as well, so definitely one to have on rotation even after fig season has passed.