It’s late August and summer tomatoes are in major abundance, all vine ripened and at the height of their flavor. Tomato salads have been a consent in my house, I’m either buying them or having them dropped off at my house by family or friends who have gardens of their own and their crop is overflowing. Believe me I’m not complaining, fall will be here before we know it!
There’s some salads that just stick out in your mind, I’ll be dreaming about this one in the dead of winter. What’s so special about this salad besides the vine ripened juicy heirlooms gracing the top, is that the base of this salad is a layer of whipped ricotta which has a hint of lemon zest and herbs folded into it.
On top of the whipped ricotta there’s a salad layer of lemony arugula. One thing is certain, you must have crusty bread when you eat this! I’m telling you it’s a meal in itself!
You want to look for a dryer type ricotta, not one that has a lot of moisture, if that’s the only kind you can find then I would drain it for a couple of hours in a strainer.
Less than a minute in a food processor and the ricotta takes on a beautiful smooth consistency with a touch of olive oil drizzled in.
Parsley, basil and lemon zest was folded in for additional flavor.
Slice up some colorful heirlooms and mix them in with other varieties and use the best extra virgin olive oil you have.
I added some sliced red onion and olives to round it all out, it’s outrageous! Put this on a big platter and watch it disappear .
I hope you make this, but don’t forget the crusty bread please!
If you find yourself with an abundance of zucchini, here’s another use for whipped ricotta, I did a post on this a while ago, zucchini ribbon salad with whipped ricotta.
- A variety of summer heirloom tomatoes, sliced. Enough to cover the ricotta. A variety of colors makes a nice presentation
- 2 cups ricotta, on the dryer side, if too wet drain it for a couple of hours
- Good olive oil for drizzling and to add to the ricotta
- the juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 2 cups arugula, roughly
- sliced red onion
- olives for plating
- parsley and basil a heaping tablespoon each, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- a loaf of crusty bread
- FOR THE WHIPPED RICOTTA
- Place ricotta into the bowl of a food processor and add in 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon of olive oil, process for 30 seconds, or until smooth.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Scoop out into a bowl and fold in the zest and chopped herbs.
- Toss the arugula with lemon juice and olive oil.
- Spread whipped ricotta mixture onto a platter, drizzle top with olive oil, then topped with arugula salad, sliced tomatoes, sliced onions.
- Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt, then a good drizzle of olive oil all over, place olives all around.
- Place slices of crusty bread all around the platter.
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
