An elegant lunch. photo: Abigail Weber

I’m always searching for new and interesting lunch options and this recipe is a product of one of those searches. I tend to have lots of odds and ends left in my fridge after a week of recipe testing. One afternoon, while searching for lunch fixings, my fridge offered up a half empty carton of ricotta, some loose radishes, and a bounty of fresh herbs at which I’d been picking all week. They came together into a very satisfying lunch for one. With a few tweaks here and there, this elegant lunch recipe was born. If you’re serving this as lunch, I’d serve two slices of toast with a side salad. If adapted for a sit down summer appetizer, one slice of toast per person is plenty.

Serves 4 as a lunch or 8 as an appetizer

1 loaf 9-grain or other hearty bread, ends trimmed, sliced into 8 thick slices
Olive oil cooking spray
Flaked sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
2 cups fresh ricotta
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
8 large French Breakfast radishes (about 1 bunch), thinly sliced
Truffle, lemon, or extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
2. Place the bread slices on a large rimmed baking sheet. Grease each slice on both sides with cooking spray. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, mix the ricotta with the dill, parsley, mint, and lemon rind. Season well with salt and pepper.
4. Top each slice of bread with a 1/4 cup of the ricotta mixture, top with a few radish slices and drizzle with oil. Finish with cracked black pepper and serve.

Nutritional analysis based on 4 servings:
Calories 403, Fat 21g, Sodium 327mg, Carbohydrate 37g, Fiber 5g, Sugars 3g, Protein 19g