Summer Pizza

Last week we made homemade ricotta cheese.

I promised to come back and show you the summer pizza that we love eating.

Summer pizza is a cool or room temperature dish.

There is no mozzarella or pepperoni.

This is a light and fresh bite of food full of the rich flavors of pizza.

This is my daughter's favorite lunch of all time.

It's quick to make and super simple.  

She has been making this for herself for a couple of years. 

We use whatever veggies we have on hand.

Cucumber, tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, green onion and fresh herbs are all great choices for this.

Below are three different versions of summer pizza.

The first plate is on Italian bread with tomatoes and basil and a balsamic glaze drizzled over the top. 

We make platters of this for an appetizer in the summer when we have friends over.

I've always had empty platters come back to the kitchen in record time.

My daughter and I had a working lunch.  

She made this version on french bread.

It was topped with avocado slices, tomatoes and cucumber.

The tomato and cucumber was tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper.

She did not add any balsamic vinegar or glaze.

This plate is heirloom tomatoes, basil and balsamic vinegar. 

All plates equally delicious and you can make it however you would like. 

You'll need to gather a few ingredients.

Bread

 Homemade Ricotta

Fresh herbs if you have them.  Dry herbs work as well.

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Balsamic vinegar if you like it

Veggies of your choice.

All I have today is tomatoes.

To begin, start with the bread.

Turn your oven on to 350 degrees or start your grill.

Slice the bread into half inch or thicker pieces.

 

Put the bread on a cookie sheet in a single layer. 

Drizzle the bread with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Or sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

Either grill or toast the bread until it is crusty.

Set it aside to cool.

Next, scoop some of your homemade ricotta into a bowl.

Add a pinch of salt and a bit of pepper.

Gather some herbs.

Sprinkle some dried Italian seasoning over the cheese.

If you are using fresh herbs, chop them up.

I like to stack my basil leaves up.

Then I stack the other little herb leaves on top.

Then I run my knife through the whole thing a couple of times.

Toss the herbs in and give it all a stir.

Now you need some delicious veggies for the top.
Toss your chopped veggies of choice into a bowl.

 Add some herbs if you want, I'm using fresh basil.
Rosemary, chives, oregano, parsley and thyme would all be great choices as well.
Season with a bit of salt and pepper.

Next in is a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Some garlic would be great in this as well.
{This is essentially a classic tomato bruschetta topping that is going over the ricotta.}

Give it all a quick, gentle stir.

  Take a few pieces of the toasted or grilled bread...




...and slather them with the ricotta mixture.




Put your bread onto a plate or platter.

 Spoon the veggies over the top.
{Look at that juice running over the edge and soaking into the crisp bread!}

You can add a sprinkle of more fresh herbs if you like to make it super pretty.
But this is it!

Let's recap!
1.  Summer pizza is like a light fresh version of pizza. 
2.  Homemade Ricotta is the bomb!
3. Get creative with your herbs and veggies.
4. This makes a great snack, light lunch, or appetizer.
5. Enjoy!