Pear, Ricotta & Honey Toast

Raise your hand if you are in a breakfast rut! Yeah, me too.

My weekday breakfast is usually a bowl of oatmeal with fruit and nuts or Greek yogurt with granola and fruit, but rarely anything else. On the weekends, I either feel really inspired and whip up omelets or waffles or I feel completely the opposite and we end up walking to our local bakery or bagel shop for a breakfast fix there instead.

On one recent Saturday morning though, I woke up early, walked my dog, and then came back in to survey the contents of my refrigerator expecting to end up in my usual weekend breakfast rut. But then I remembered how much I love the combination of fruit and ricotta (which I had leftover from a pizza I had made earlier that week) and that I had half a loaf of ciabatta in my freezer and [lightbulb!] I had the makings of a great breakfast on my hands. Breakfast rut, be gone!

I obviously love the combination of creamy ricotta, sweet honey, and toasty bread because I shared an appetizer recipe of a similar nature on the blog just a few months ago. That combination of flavors and textures is simple, but really magical. To turn it into breakfast, I added some fruit to the mix-- and some crisp pear slices were a great addition to this dish and pears are perfect for using in this recipe all year long. It would also be great with fresh berries or peaches in the summer or maybe plums or apples in the fall. A generous sprinkle of cinnamon finishes the whole thing off with a little spice that I love in my sweet oatmeal or yogurt breakfasts.

These toasts are pretty simple and rustic, but also very elegant at the same time. Make the toasts smaller and incorporate them as part of a brunch spread when you're entertaining. Or just make a slice (or two) for yourself and enjoy with a cup of coffee on a lazy Saturday... that's even better!


Ingredients:

• 4 thick slices of ciabatta
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 2/3 cup ricotta
• 1 pear, thinly sliced *I used a Bosc pear
• 2 Tbs. honey
• Cinnamon 

Preheat a griddle or large skillet over medium-high heat. Brush one side of each ciabatta slice with olive oil and place oiled side down on the griddle or skillet for about 2-3 minutes or until the surface of the bread is golden brown and crispy. Remove from heat.

Use a small spatula or the back of a spoon to spread ricotta evenly over the toasted surface of the bread. Arrange pear slices on top and drizzle evenly with honey. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve warm.