Courgette Toast with Lemon Ricotta and Toasted Hazelnuts

From Soft Ricotta to Charred Ribbons

This toast is all about contrast, without many ingredients: warm, soft bread and ricotta against courgette with charred edges and coarsely chopped hazelnuts. Lemon zest gives the cheese a fresh aroma; a little juice makes the flavour livelier. Use sturdy slices of sourdough if possible, so they can hold the ricotta and the moisture from the courgette without going soft. One medium courgette is enough for two generously topped slices.

Use a vegetable peeler to cut the courgette into long ribbons. Thin ribbons cook quickly and colour in places in a hot grill pan while staying flexible. Pat them dry first and don’t overcrowd the pan: if the ribbons overlap, they’ll steam rather than fry. A regular heavy frying pan works too; you’ll get brown spots instead of pronounced grill marks. Cook in batches and turn the ribbons once the underside has coloured.

Courgettes are widely available in summer, but you can make this dish all year round. Choose ones that feel firm and have unblemished skin. You can replace the ricotta with well-drained full-fat quark, though the topping will be a little fresher and less soft. The hazelnuts are deliberately more than a garnish here: toast them briefly in a dry pan and chop them coarsely, so the toast has both small pieces and bigger crunchy bits. Don’t let them get too dark, or they may taste bitter.

Toast the bread while you cook the courgette. Mix the ricotta with lemon zest, a little lemon juice, salt and black pepper; taste and add a little more juice if needed. The cheese should stay creamy and not become sour. Spread the ricotta on the warm bread and arrange the courgette on top just before serving. This keeps the toast sturdy, with the warm vegetable clearly layered over the cool, creamy base.

Serve the toast for lunch, perhaps with a simple green salad or some crunchy radishes on the side. For a more substantial plate, you could add a bowl of tomato soup. The toast is best eaten just after it’s topped, while the bread is still crisp and the hazelnuts retain their crunch. If you have any courgette ribbons left over, cover and refrigerate them and use within two days; warm them briefly in a pan. If you’re preparing anything in advance, store the topping and bread separately.