A dessert style bruschetta

It was a lazy Friday night and I was watching the “Living Room”…yes I know what you are thinking! But moments before I could reach for the remote, the charming (and at times slightly crazy) Miguel Maestre began interviewing Deb, who had recently been eliminated from this seasons Masterchef. 

She had provided a fantastic recipe, which she described as a sweet breakfast bruschetta. Given how sweet this dish is I think it would be a preferable option for a mid -afternoon snack. You know the moments, where you have had a Sunday brunch, but it turns 3 o’clock and you have that craving for something sweet to tie you over till dinner.  It would also make the perfect afternoon tea if you have some friends coming over and want to whip up something quick!

This recipe serves 4 people and has been slightly adapted from the original recipe:

Ingredients

Sourdough- you only need about one slice per person (and try get this fresh from your local bakery rather than buying it from a supermarket)

Apple mixture:

• 3 granny smith apples, cored and sliced into wedges

• Zest of one lemon

• Juice of one lemon

• 50g butter

• 12 fresh dates, pitted and cut into half

• 2 tablespoons honey

Walnut syrup

• 100g golden walnuts

• 100g butter

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

• 50g honey

• 50g maple syrup

Orange ricotta

• 250g fresh ricotta (buy this from the deli section)

• Zest of one orange

• 2 tablespoons orange juice

Method

 You can do this recipe in five quick sections:

(1)    Apple mixture  

Place apple wedges into a saucepan with the butter, zest and juice of the lemon.  Stir continuously and ensure the apple wedges are coated thoroughly in the mixture. Continue to cook the mixture until the apples soften and at this stage add the honey and dates.  Remove from the heat.

(2)  Walnut syrup

Dry toast the walnuts in the oven on 180 degrees for approximately 8 – 10 minutes.  You should be able to smell the aroma of the walnuts at this time, but be careful not to overcook them.

In a small saucepan place the honey, maple syrup, butter, lemon juice and cinnamon and bring to the boil.  Once the mixture begins to caramelise and become syrupy add the walnuts. Turn off the heat.

(3)  Orange ricotta

Add the zest and the orange juice to the ricotta and stir through thoroughly. 

(4)  Bread

Diagonally cut the sour dough bread and heat on a grill.

(5)  Assembly

The final step is assembly, which is definitely the most fun! Here I’ve placed the apple and date mixture on the bread, topped with lashings of walnut syrup and then cornelled the ricotta and orange mixture.  

Enjoy!