Nine months out of the year, mangoes are my favorite fruit, but as soon as the height of summer hits, I forget all about mangoes and completely swoon over peaches. Peaches! So good! I eat them almost daily, usually in salads, sometimes as a dessert, but always with the utmost enthusiasm.
This peach toast recipe kind of straddles the line between sweet and savory. Is it a dessert? Sure! Breakfast? Totally! Dinner? That’s how we ate it in my household and I have no regrets. I am all about low-effort dinners, especially in the summer when I don’t want to cook.
And guess what? Other than toasting the bread, this recipe requires no cooking!
You’ll want to start with a good, crusty, respectable French bread. The first time I tested this recipe, I made it on brioche, which was delicious, but a disaster to eat. Between the ricotta, peaches, and mint drizzle, you’re working with ingredients that introduce some moisture to the bread, so you need a loaf that can stand up to that.
In addition to the good bread, you also want good peaches and ricotta. Are you sensing a pattern here? Because this recipe is so simple, each ingredient needs to be stellar. If you can make your own ricotta, do it! Otherwise, buy a good whole milk variety. Your peaches should be ripe, fresh from the market, and dripping with juice.
The mint drizzle–I really don’t know what to call it, so let’s just go with that—is a riff off of mint chutney. Vinegar adds a little tartness to balance the sweetness of the peaches and mint brings a nice, herbaceous flavor to make things interesting.
Sprinkle chopped pistachios on top for some crunch and saltiness and you have the perfect summer dinner. Or dessert. Or breakfast.
Photos by Sunny Frantz
Ricotta Toast with Fresh Summer Peaches
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup packed mint leaves about 3/4 ounces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- Pinch of salt
- 4 big thick slices crusty French bread, toasted
- 1/2 cup ricotta
- 2 ripe peaches sliced
- 1/4 cup finely chopped pistachios
Instructions
- Combine the mint leaves, olive oil, water, vinegar, honey and salt in the smallest bowl of a food processor or high powered blender. Process until completely smooth. (If your blender doesn't do small batches well, you may want to double this part of the recipe.)
- Spread the ricotta on the 4 slices of toast. Top with the peaches, then drizzle with the mint sauce. Sprinkle pistachios over the peaches and serve immediately.
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