No cooking! 10 Minutes!
Yes, butter makes everything better, but ricotta makes it special!
When butter boards blew up on Tik Tok in late 2022, I was game. Who doesn’t love slathering butter on wood and then scraping it off and eating it! But I wanted something that had a little more zing to it.
This Mediterranean Ricotta Board combines a pillowy white cloud of ricotta, bright green salty pistachios, lemon thyme, fresh orange segments, orange zest, briny black olives, smoky prosciutto, a drizzle of olive oil and a scattering of chives. Top it with a little Maldon flaky sea salt and pepper. Serve it alongside a crusty loaf of focaccia, and guests will marvel at your culinary skills.
An appetizer platter that wows!
You don’t have to tell them that you made to it in 10 minutes! Or that this board looks amazing and requires no cooking! So at the next together, don’t be that person who shows up with a bag of chips and a jar of orangey queso. You can do better! Make this Mediterranean Ricotta Board instead.
The flavors will transport you to France or Italy without a buying a plane ticket!
Mediterranean Ricotta Board
Recipe Ingredients
Everything you'll need for this delicious recipe is below.
3 c whole milk ricotta
3-4 slices prosciutto (chopped with scissors into small pieces)
1 orange (zest and segments)
1 T lemon thyme
1 T chives snipped with scissors
1 T Extra Virgin olive oil to drizzle
3 T chopped black olives
1 loaf focaccia
Flaky Maldon sea salt
Black pepper
1 wooden board or any pretty platter, preferably with a slight rim1 venison tenderloin
Preparation Instructions
1. Spread ricotta evenly on the board or platter like you would frosting on a cake. No need to go out to the edges. It’s also easier to carry if you leave a strip around the edge.
2. Zest orange peel over the ricotta
3. Then cut orange into small chunks, removing any pith or membranes.
4. Place orange chunks all over ricotta
5. Drain and chop black olives. Scatter over ricotta.
6. Rough chop pistachios. You want them to add crunch and show up so no need to finely chop them. Sprinkle over ricotta
7. Strip leaves of lemon thyme off and sprinkle the leaves over. (You can keep a couple of sprigs for garnish.) Discard the stems.
8. Snip prosciutto in small pieces and place over board.
9. Drizzle olive oil all over the ricotta.
10. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and pepper.
11. Warm focaccia in oven according to package directions.
12. Serve warm bread with ricotta board.
Refrigerate ricotta board until ready to serve.
Cooking Tips:
1. A rimmed board is best to keep anything from oozing off. If you use a board without a rim, don’t go to the edge with the ricotta.
2. Use your handy scissors to snip the chives and the prosciutto, rather than cutting with a knife.
3. Microplane the orange first to get the zest and put aside. Then peel the orange, making sure to get the flesh and no white pith which is bitter.
4. If the pistachios are raw, you can bake them on a cookie sheet for five minutes in a 350 oven to roast them. They’ll be more flavorful that way.
5. If you don’t have Maldon sea salt, just use regular salt.
6. This dish can be easily made for vegetarians by leaving off the prosciutto.
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