Italians are known for enjoying a large variety of cheeses, ricotta being one of the staples in any household. Ricotta is easy enough to make at home in less than an hour RICOTTA or is readily available at the grocery store. I make my own ricotta frequently and have to admit, a guilty pleasure is warm freshly made ricotta spread on toast and drizzled with honey and cinnamon. Oh yeah!
Taking that guilty pleasure one step further is making a grilled ricotta cheese sandwich and adding figs. Now you’re talking! To some, this may seem strange, but growing up on focaccia and eggplant sandwiches, this seems like a normal sandwich choice to me.
Fig jam plays an important roll in this sandwich as it lends a bit of sweetness spread between the ricotta cheese and figs. Homemade ricotta and a few sliced figs, and a sandwich is in the making.
Butter bread on one side as you would for any grilled cheese sandwich.
Use a panini maker to grill and compress the sandwich. Here I am illustrating a pan on top of the sandwich as another way to compress the sandwich if you don’t have a panini maker.
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 4 slices rustic french or Italian bread
- 1/4 cup ricotta cheese (homemade or store brand)
- 3-4 fresh figs, sliced
- 2 tablespoons fig jam
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Butter one side of each slice of bread.
- Generously spread ricotta cheese on the side not buttered, then spread a tablespoon of fig jam on the cheese.
- Top with sliced figs and second slice of bread. (Be sure that buttered side is on the outside of the sandwich, not the inside.
- Put the sandwich in a panini maker or use a fry pan to grill the sandwich. If using a fry pan, apply pressure with another smaller pan on top of the sandwich to create panini.
- Cook until toasted.
Nutrition